
Class JZ_ 

Book ' K 'J A 4 - 



CATECHISM 

OF THE 

HISTORY 

OF THE 

UNITED STATES: 

WITH A 

tfjjranolngual fable at JLmerirau f tstoru, 

From its Discovery in 1492 to the year 1854. 
ILLUSTRATED WITH ENGRAVINGS. 

DESIGNED TO ACCOMPANY IR^ING'S SERIES OF CATECHISMS. 

Adapted to the use of /Schools in the United States. 
By M. J V KERNE Y, Esq. 

Author of Compendium of Ancient and Modern History, Sfc. tfc. Sfc. 



"There is nothing that can belter deserve our patronage than the promotion of 
science and literature Knowledge is in every eounuy the surest basis of public 
happiness: and in one in which the measures of government receive ihfir impression 
bo immediately from the sense of the com.i. unity as in ours, it is proponionably es- 
sential." | Washington. 



Third Enlarged and Revived Edition. 

: 

BALTIMORE: 

PUBLISHED BY JOHN MURPHY" & CO. 
No. 178 MARKET STREET. 

Sold by Bookseller) generally throughout the United States. 

1854. 



Entered, according to the Act of Congress, in the year 
eighteen hundred and fifty-four, by J. Murphy & Co., 
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Maryland. 



En* 






ADVERTISEMENT 
TO THE THIRD REVISED EDITION. 



The peculiar merits of this little History are to be 
found in the accuracy of its details, and in the adap- 
tation of its style and arrangement to the capacity of 
that class of learners for which it was designed. In 
these particulars it is far superior to any work of the 
kind now before the public. But the favor with 
which it has been received, and its extensive circula- 
tion, are the best comments on its merits. Ten thou- 
sand copies have been disposed of within two years. 

These indications of public approbation have in- 
duced the publishers to spare neither labor nor 
expense to render the work still more deserving of 
that liberal patronage which has been already ex- 
tended to it. The present edition has been carefully 
revised and considerably enlarged ; and in order to 
render the work more interesting and attractive, a 
number of appropriate and instructive engravings 
haVe been introduced. These improvements will add 
much to its merits, and render the present far supe- 
rior to the previous editions. 

Baltimoke, February 10, 1854. 
5 



PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. 



The following little work is designed for children 
about to commence the study of History. It has been 
compiled at the request of the publishers, to be used 
in connexion with Irving's highly popular series of 
catechisms. The plan of the work is similar to that 
adopted by Dr. Irving. The catechetical form of 
instruction is now admitted by the most experienced 
teachers to be the best adapted to the nature and 
capacity of children — a system by which they will 
acquire a knowledge of a science in less time than by 
any other. 

As an introductory work, the following catechism 
will be found to possess many advantages, particularly 
for that class of learners for which it is designed. It 
presents to the minds of the young a clear and con- 
cise view of the most interesting and important events 
of the history of their own country. The chronolo- 
gical table will render them familiar with the dates 
of the. most important transactions, and serve as an 
excellent method of exercising their memories. 



CONTENTS 



Page. 

Advertisement to Third Edition 5 

Preface to First Edition 6 

Introduction 9 

Chap. 

I. Discovery and Antiquities of America 11 

II. The Settlement of Virginia 17 

III. The Settlement of the New England States. . 20 
IY. The Settlement of the Middle and Southern 

States 24 

V. The French War, and Conquest of Canada ... 28 

VI. The Causes of the Revolution 32 

VIJ. The Revolutionary War 35 

VIII. The Revolutionary War — Continued 40 

IX. The Revolutionary War — Continued 46 

X. The Revolution — Concluded 51 

[XI. Adoption of the Constitution of the United 

States — Difficulties with France, &c 55 

XII. The Late War with England 63 

XIII. The Late War with England— Concluded . . . 68 

XIV. The National Bank, &c 71 

XV. War with Mexico— Causes of the War — The 

Battle of Palo Alto— Battle of Resaca de la 
Palma — Battle of Monterey — Battle of Buena 
Vista 77 

XVI. War with Mexico, Continued — General Scott 

— Surrender of Vera Cruz — Battle of Cerro 
Gordo — Battle of Contreras — Battle of Chu- 
ibus>t<> Surrender of the city of Mexico.. 84 
7 



8 CONTENTS. 

Page. 

General Questions on the Constitution of the United 

States 91 

General Questions on the Constitutions and Govern- 
ments of the principal States of the Union 91 

Declaration of Independence 112 

Table showing the birth-place and age of the Sign- 
ers of the Declaration of Independence 115 

Chronological table of the Presidents and other Prin- 
cipal officers, since the adoption of the Con- 
stitution 117 

A chronological table of American history from the 

discovery in 1492 to the year 1853 121 



A CATECHISM 



iisfcrjj d % United States. 



INTRODUCTION. 



(). What is History ? 

A. History is a written narrative of past 
events. 

Q. What are the divisions of History? 

A. History is divided into Ancient and Mo- 
dern ; which is also subdivided into Civil, Sacred 
and Profane. 

Q. What do }'Ou understand by Ancient His- 
tory? 

A. Ancient History, is an account of all 
events, that have taken place from the Creation 
of the world to the birth of Christ. 

Q. What is Modern History? 

A. Modern History embraces an account of 
all events, from the birth of Christ to the present 
time. 

Q. What is Civil History? 

A. Civil History is an account of the rise, 
continuance, and fall of empires, kingdoms, and 
states. 



10 INTRODUCTION. 

Q. What is Sacred History? 

A. Sacred History is that, which is contained 
in the Sacred Scriptures. 

Q. What is Profane History ? 

A. Profane History is properly the history of 
fabulous gods, and heroes of antiquity. 

Q. Which is the most ancient history? 

A. The most ancient history, is that contained 
in the Old Testament; which gives an account 
of the Creation of the world, the fall of our first 
parents, &c. 

Q. How many years from the Creation of the 
world to the birth of Christ? 

A. It is commonly said to be four thousand 
and four years. 

Q. How is Ancient History distinguished ? 

A. It is distinguished for the rise and fall of 
the four great Empires : Assyria, Persia, Greece 
and Rome. * 

Q. For what is Modern History distinguished ? 

A. Modern History is distinguished for the 
invention of gunpowder, the discovery of Ame- 
rica, and the invention of the art of printing. 

Q. What are the Middle Ages? 

A. The Middle Ages, embrace a period, which 
extends from the decline of the Western Em- 
pire of the Romans, to the fall of the Eastern 
Empire. 

Q. How are the Middle Ages distinguished? 

A. They are distinguished by the rise, and 
progress of Mahometanism, the Feudal System, 
Crusades, and Chivalry. 




Landing" of Columbus. 

CHAPTER I. 
Discovery and Antiquities of America. 

Q. Who discovered America? 

A. Christopher Columbus. 

Q. When and where was Columbus born ? 

A. At Genoa, in Italy ; in the year 1435. 

Q. How was his youth spent? 

A. At the age of fourteen, he engaged in a 
sea-faring life ; and soon became distinguished 
for his skill in managing boats and vessels upon 
the water. 

Q. In what branches of knowledge did he excel? 

A. He was particularly distinguished for his 
knowledge of Geometry, Astronomy, Geography 
and Naval Science. 

Q. What were the people of Europe at that 
time endeavoring to find ? 
11 



12 HISTORY OF 

A. They were endeavoring to find a passage 
by water to the East Indies. 

Q. How did they expect to find a passage by 
water ? 

A. By sailing around the southern part of 
Africa, and then taking an eastern course. 

Q. "With what country did Columbus suppose 
this continent was connected? 

A. With the East Indies. 

Q. What did he conclude ? 

A. Columbus, reasoning from the spherical 
figure of the earth, concluded that the Indies 
might be reached by sailing directly west from 
Europe. 

Q. To whom did he first apply for assistance ? 

A. He first applied to the government of 
Genoa, his native country, but his theory was 
treated as visionary. 

Q. To whom did he next apply ? 

A. He next applied to the king of Portugal, 
who attentively listened to his theory, and then 
secretly sent a vessel on a voyage of discovery, 
but the captain, being a man of no experience 
in naval science, soon returned without having 
made any discovery. 

Q. By whom was he finally assisted ? 

A. By Ferdinand and Isabella, the sovereigns 
of Spain. 

Q. Where did he sail from ? 

A. From the port of Palos, in Spain, with 
three small vessels, carrying ninety men. 

Q. Can you relate any particulars of the 
voyage ? 



THE UNITED STATES. 



13 



A. The Spaniards, having lost sight of land, 
were seized with fear, and entreated Columbus 
to return to Spain. 

Q. What did Columbus do? 

A. He endeavored to calm their fears and 
silence their murmurs by kindness and promises ; 
but finding their clamors only increased, he as- 
sumed a decided tone, and told them that the 
expedition had been sent out by the order of 
the Sovereigns of Spain, to find a passage to 
the Indies, and that he would persevere until he 
had accomplished the enterprise. 

Q. Can you relate any other particulars of 
the voyage? 

A. Every evening, Columbus and his com- 
panions, who were Catholics, assembled upon 
the decks of the vessels, and as the sun disap- 
peared in the west, they chanted forth that beau- 
tiful hymn, the Salve Regina, in honor of the 
i Blessed Virgin. 

Q. When did he discover America ? 

A. On the 12th of October, in the year 1492.. 

Q. What land did he first reach ? 

A. He first reached one of the Bahama Islands, 
| k> which he gave the name of Saint Salvadore. 

Q. How many voyages did Columbus make 
to America? 

A. Four ; in the third of which he discovered 
the Continent, and landed in several places in 
the northern part of South America. 

Q. Where and when did Columbus die ? 

A. He died at Valladolid in Spain, in the 
year 1506. 



14 HISTORY OF 

Q. Why was the country called America? 

A. The country was called America from 
Americus Vespucius, who sailed to the New 
"World on a voyage of discovery after Columbus 
had reached the Continent; Americus explored 
still farther, the new regions, and on his return 
to Spain published an account of his discovery, 
and the country in consequence, received from 
him the name of America, 

Q. By whom was North America discovered? 

A. By John Cabot, then in the service of 
Henry VII, king of England. 

Q. What part of the Continent did Cabot dis- 
cover ? 

A. He discovered the coast of Labrador, and 
sailed along the southern coast, and took pos- 
session of the country in the name of his sove- 
reign. This laid the foundation of the British 
claim to North America. 

Q. In what year did this take place ? 

A. In the year 1496 ; and one year later, he 
discovered Newfoundland. 

Q. By whom was the empire of Mexico con- 
quered ? 

A. By Hernando Cortez. 

Q. From what place did Cortez sail ? 

A. He sailed from Cuba with a few small 
vessels carrying six hundred men, sixteen horses 
and a few pieces of cannon. 

Q. Where did he land? 

A. He landed on the sight where the present 
city of Vera Cruz now stands. 

Q. What did he then do ? 



TIIE UNITED STATES. 



15 



A. Having burned his vessels, he commenced 
his march towards the city of Mexico, and after 
fighting many battles, he took the city, and 
finally reduced the whole empire to a Spanish 
province. 

Q. By whom was Peru, in South America, 
discovered and conquered ? 

A. By Francis Pizarro, about the year 1531. 

Q. What was the condition of the Peruvians, 
at the time the empire was discovered ? 

A. The Peruvians, like the Mexicans, were 
considerably advanced in civilization ; they un- 
derstood architecture, agriculture, and the work- 
ing of the precious metals, and had a regular 
government and a code of civil and religious 
laws. 

Q. What did they worship? 

A. They worshipped the Sun as the Supreme 
Deity. 

Q. Is it probable that any part of America 
was known before the time of Columbus ? 

A. It is said that Greenland was visited by 
the Norwegians, in the year 982, and it is now 
generally believed, that America at an early 
period was inhabited by a race of people far 
more advanced in civilization than the Indians. 

Q. How do they support this conjecture ? 

A. By the ruins of many extensive works of 
art, found in many parts of the country. 

Q. Where may some of these be found ? 

A. In Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New 
York, Kentucky, and many other ^ - 

Q. What ruins do you find 



16 HISTORY OF 

A. Near Wheeling, on the Ohio River, is to 
be seen the ruins of an ancient mound, fifty- 
feet in circumference, and ninety feet high. 
This mound is filled with thousands of human 
skeletons, and was probably situated near some 
great city, and was the general deposite of the 
dead for ages. 

Q What may be found in Pennsylvania ? 

A. Near Marietta are extensive fortifications, 
consisting of walls, and mounds of earth, from 
six to ten feet high, and nearly forty feet broad 
at the base. On the Susquehanna River, a piece 
of pottery was found, measuring twelve feet 
across the top, and thirty-six feet in circum- 
ference.* 

Q. What ruins may be seen in Ohio? 

A. On the banks of the Muskingum River, 
are the ruins of immense walls, forts, mounds, 
and wells, many of them built of hewn stone ; 
and at Paint Creek are to be seen the remains 
of ancient forts of immense size, covering one 
hundred and fifteen acres of land. 

Q. What has been found in New York ? 

A. In Onondaga County is the site of an 
ancient burying ground. In one of the graves 
was found a glass bottle, and an iron hatchet, 
edged with steel. In Scipio County, a man 
found several hundred weight of brass, and a 
quantity of wrought iron, sufficient to shoe his 
horses for many years. On the Genesee River, 
a piece of silver was found, on which was en- 
graved in Arabic letters, the year of our Lord 
600. 



THE UNITED STATES 17 

Q. What may be found in Kentucky V 

A. Lexington, in Kentucky, stands nearly on 
the site of an ancient town of great extent and 
magnificence, the ruins of which are still visible. 

Q. What do these things prove ? 

A. They prove, that America was at some re- 
mote period inhabited by a race of people, ac- 
quainted with many of the mechanical arts, and 
far advanced in civilization ; and that, by some 
unknown cause, they disappeared from the coun- 
try, or sank into a state of barbarism, such as 
the natives were found when Columbus first vis- 
ited the country. 



CHAPTER II. 
The Settlement of Virginia, 

Q. When and where did the English com 
mence their settlement in America ? 

A. In 1584, Sir Walter Raleigh sent out a 
company of adventurers, who landed on an 
island in Pamlico Sound, and then proceeded to 
the Isle of Roanoke, where they commenced a 
settlement. 

Q. What was the fate of this party "/ 

A. They were in a short time reduced to the 
utmost distress by famine, and by hostilities with 
the natives, and returned again to England. 

Q. What did Raleigh do in *1585 ? 

A. In 1585, Raleigh sent out another com- 
pany of one hundred and fifty men 
2 



18 . . H98XO&Y OF 

Q. Where did they land 3 

A. This party also landed on the Isle of Ro- 
anoke, but they were soon reduced to great dis- 
tress, and returned to England with Sir Francis 
Drake 

Q. When was the first permanent settlement 

made in Virginia? . 

,4. The first permanent settlement was made 
in Virginia in 1607, at Jamestown, under the 
direction of the London Company. 

Q. What have you to observe of the first set- 
tiers? , 

.4. They were men of dissipated habits, and 
destitute of industry and economy. They were 
soon involved in war with the Indians : and in 
six months after they landed, half their number 
died of famine and disease. 

Q. What, distinguished man was among the 
first settlers ? 

A. Captain John Smith. 

Q. What have you to relate of Smith? 

.1 He was taken prisoner by the Indians, 
who carried him to Powhatan, their king.^ ^ <■ 

Q What sentence was. pronounced on Smith.' 

A. He was condemned to death, and imme- 
diately led forth to exec l. 

Q. What happened ;■• they were about to 



execute him 



Ul*3 u l Hi 

A 



a; mux ... ixl 

His head was laid upon a stone, and the 
savages with uplifted clubs were about to kill 
him- but just al this moment, Pocahontas, the 
favorite daughter of Powhatan, rushed between 
the executioners and the prisoner, and by her 



TUM UMTED STATES. Itf 

tears and entreaties prevailed on her father to 
spare the life of Smith. 

Q. Was her prayer heard ? 

A. Yes; Smith obtained his liberty, and re* 
turned in safety to Jamestown. 

Q. What is related of Pocahontas ? 

A: Powhatan had secretly planned the de- 
struction of the Colony, but Pocahontas went 
to Jamestown on a dark and stormy night, and 
disclosed to Smith the designs of her father, and 
thus saved the Colony from destruction. 

<?. What happened to her on another visit to 
Jamestown; 

A. She was detained a prisoner. 

Q. Whom did she marry ? 

t v 1 S h f, Was . ™ arried t0 a young man named 
John Kolfe, with whom she sailed to England 
and was there instructed in the Christian reli- 
gion, and publicly baptized. 

Q. Where did she die? 

A. She died at Gravesend, leaving one son 
trom whom some of the most eminent families 
in Virginia are descended. 

Q. When and by whom was slavery introduced? 
, A ± ?* h ? year 1620, a Dutch vessel from the 
coast of Guinea, sailed up the James River 

2/" oar ^ about twenty negroes, who' were - 
•sold to the planters. 

16^S? What happened on tIie 22d of March, 
A. The colony was attacked by the Indians 
and m one fatal hour, 347 of the* colonist., feU 
victim* to their cruelty. 



20 HISTORY OF 

Q. By what was this followed ? 

A. By a war of extermination against the 
Indians 

Q. What took place in 1676? 

A. An insurrection broke out, called Bacon's 
Rebellion, from the name of its leader. 

Q. During this rebellion, what happened? 

A. The country was laid waste, and James- 
town burned to the ground ; but it was termi- 
nated by the death of Bacon. 



CHAPTER III. 
The Settlement of the New England States, 

Q. How did these States get the name of 
New England ? 

A. In 1614 this section of the country was 
visited by the celebrated Captain Smith, who 
explored the coast, and on his return to Europe, 
made a map of the country and called it New 
England. 

Q. By whom was Massachusetts settled ? 

A. By a company of persons from England 
called Puritans. 

Q. Where had the Puritans gone before they 
removed to America ? 

A. They had gone to Holland. 

Q. Why did they resolve to remove to Ame- 
rica? . . 

A. To avoid the persecution carried on against 



TfflB UJJITEB STATES. 21 

thein in their own country on account of their 
religion. 

Q. What was the name of the vessel in which 
they sailed '? 

A. The Mayflower. 

Q. Where did they intend to land ? 

.4. They intended to land at the mouth of the 
Hudson river, but they were carried much fur- 
ther to the north. 

Q. When and where did they land V 

A. They landed on the 22d of December, 
1620, at a place called by the natives Patuxet, 
but to which they gave the name of Plymouth. 

Q. Why did they call the place Plymouth ? 

A. In honor of Plymouth, in England, the 
port from which they sailed. 

( } . What was the number of the Pilgrims? 

A. They numbered 101. 

V- What was their condition ? 

A. They suffered greatly from famine and 
sickness, so that half their number died before 
.•spring. 

Q. What regulation did they establish shortly 
after their landing ? 

A. With a desire of conforming to the sim- 
plicity of the early Christians, they held all their 
property in common. 

Q. By whom were they visited in 1621 ? 

A. They were visited by Massasoit, a distin- 
guished Indian chief, from whom the State of 
Massachusetts derives its name. 

Q. When and by whom was Connecticut set- 
tled? 



A. In 1630. by a company of persons from 
Massachusetts, with their minister, Mr. Hooker. 

Q. Where did they commence their first set- 
tlements ? 

A. At Windsor, Hartford, and Weathersfield. 

Q. By whom was Rhode Island settled '? 

A. Rhode Island was settled in 1636, by Ro- 
ger Williams, a clergyman, who was expelled 
from Massachusetts on account of his religious 
opinions. 

Q. What did Williams call the first town I 

A. He called it Providence, in grateful re- 
membrance of the protection of Heaven over him. 

Q. What may be remarked of the charter ob- 
tained from England for the government of the 
colony ? 

A. The charter was liberal ; it granted free 
toleration in matters of religion, yet by the very 
first Assembly convened under its authority, the 
Roman Catholics were excluded from voting at 
elections, and from all civil offices. 

Q. By whom was the first settlement in New 
Hampshire made ? 

A. By the Rev. Mr. Wheelright, and a few 
followers, who were also banished from Massa- 
chusetts on account of their religion. 

Q. Who made the first settlement in Maine ? 

A. The first settlement in Maine was made 
by Ferdinand Gorges in 1636. 

Q. From what did the New England colonies 
suffer ? 

A. They suffered greatly from the hostilities 
of the Indians. 



THE UNITED STATES. 23" 

Q Were the New England colonies engaged 
in war with the natives ? 

A. Yes — in a war known as King Philip's 
war. 

Q. Who was Philip? 

A. He was the son of Massasoit, chief of the 
Wampanoags, and resided chiefly at Mount 
Hope, Rhode Island. 

Q. What is said of this war '( 

A. It was distinguished for the utmost cru- 
elty and sufferings on both sides. 

Q. How was it terminated ? 

A. It was terminated by the death of Philip, 
who was shot by one of his own men. 

Q. Which were the most powerful tribes ? 

A. The Narragansetts and the Pequods. 

Q. What have you to relate concerning the 
two tribes? 

A. The Narragansetts and Pequods were al- 
ways great enemies to each other ; at length 
the former joined the English in a war against 
the latter, and the nation of the Pequods was 
entirely destroyed. 

Q. When and where was the first printing 
press established in America ? 

A. In the year 1639, at Cambridge, in Mas- 
sachusetts. 

Q. What may be said of the colonists with 
regard to education ? 

J.. They took deep interest in the affairs of 
education, and at an early period established 
schools and colleges for the education of their 
children. 



24 HISTORY OF- 

Q. When was Harvard University founded ? 

A. In the year 1638, at Cambridge. 

Q. When and where was William and Mary 
College founded ? 

A. In the year 1093, in Virginia, 

Q. When was Yale College founded ? 

A. In the year 1700, at Saybrook, in Connec- 
ticut. 

Q. When was Dartmouth College founded ? 

A. In the year 1769, at Hanover, New Hamp- 
shire. 



CHAPTER IV. 

The Settlenient of the Middle and Southern 

States. 

Q. By whom was New York settled? 

A. By a company of Dutch, in the year 1614. 

Q. Where did they commence their settle- 
ment ? 

.4. They sailed up the Hudson river, and 
commenced a settlement near the present city 
of Albany ; they also commenced another set- 
tlement on Manhattan Island, where the city of 
New York now stands, and called it New Am- 
sterdam. 

Q. Why is the " Hudson river " so called V 

A. It was called after Henry Hudson, an 
Englishman, then in the service of a Holland 
company ; he was the first European who entered 
that river. 



THE ONJTEP STATIC 



25 



Q. What took place in the year 1GG4. 

A. New Amsterdam was conquered by the 
English, and called New York, in honor of the 
Duke of York, to whom it was granted. 

Q. By whom was Delaware settled ? 

A. Delaware was settled by the Swedes and 
Finns, in 1630. 

Q. Where did they commence their first set* 
dement ? 

A. Near the entrance of the Delaware Bay, 
where they laid the foundation of Lewistown, 
the oldest town in the State. 

Q. A few years after they commenced this 
settlement, what took place*? 

A. The Swedes and Finns were conquered, 
and their colony subdued by Stuyvesant, the 
Governor of New Netherlands. 

Q. By whom was Maryland settled? 

A. The settlement of Maryland was com- 
menced in 1633, by a colony of Roman Catho- 
lics under Lord Baltimore, a native of England. 

Q. Why did they leave England ? 

J. They left England, because they were 
greatly persecuted on account of their religion. 

Q. Where did they land V 

A They landed on the shores of the Chesa- 
peake Bay, and commenced a settlement at a 
village which they purchased from the Indians, 
and called St. Mary's. 

Q. What were the names of the vessels in 
which they sailed ? 

A. They were called the Ark and the Dove. 



26 R1ST0KY QF 

Q. What have you to observe with regard to 
this colony? 

A. The government of Lord Baltimore was 
established on the most liberal principles. Civil 
and religious liberty were proclaimed : no one 
was molested on account of his religion ; and all 
were permitted to worship God according to the' 
dictates of their own conscience. 

Q. To whom does the honor of having first 
established religious freedom in America be- 
long ? 

A. To the Roman Catholics of Maryland. 

Q. How did Lord Baltimore treat the Indians ? 

A. With kindness and humanity ; they paid 
them for their lands, and by the aid of their mis- 
sionaries, many of them were converted to Chris- 
tianity. 

Q. Who were the missionaries that accompa- 
nied the early settlers of Maryland ? 

A Father' White and Father Altliam, two 
Jesuit priests. 

Q. By whom was Pennsylvania settled ? 

A. By a company of Friends, or Quakers, 
under the celebrated William Penn. 

Q. When did they arrive in this country ? 

A. The first company arrived in the year 
1681, but Penn himself did not arrive until 
about a year later, with another party. 

Q. Where did the}' commence a settlement ? 

A. They purchased the land from the natives. 
and commenced a settlement on the Delaware 
river, where the city of Philadelphia now stands. 

Q. What have you to observe of this colony? 



THE CNITKO STATUS 



27 



A William Penn, following the example of 
Lord Baltimore, established full liberty of con- 
science, and the settlement soon became flour- 
ishing. 

Q. When and where did Penn die ? 

A. He died in England in 1718. in the 75th 
year of his age. 

Q. By whom was North Carolina settled? 

A. In the year 1650. by a colony from Vir- 
ginia. 

Q. Where did they commence a settlement ? 

A. Near Albemarle Sound. 

Q. When was South Carolina settled i 

A. In the year 1689. where Charleston now 
stands. 

Q. What was introduced in 1700? 

A. In the year 1700 the cultivation of cotton 
and rice was introduced. 

Q. When and by whom was Georgia settled ? 

A. In the year 1732, by Mr. Oglethorpe, who 
commenced a settlement where the city of Sa- 
vannah now stands. 

Q. Why was it called Georgia ? 

A It was called in honor of George the Sec- 
ond, at that time King of England. 



m 



I'd STORY OF 




rof Quebec, nntl Dea(l) of General Wolfe. 



( : II A V T E R V . 
The Fretoch War, and Conquest of Canada. 

Q. Wherk had the French made settlements? 

A, They had made settlements in Canada, 
Nova Scotia, and near the Mississippi river. 

Q. What occurred between the English and 
French settlers ? 

A. Frequent disputes. 

Q. What did the French endeavor to do V 

A. They endeavored to connect their distant 
possessions by erecting forts along the Ohio 
river, and military posts from that river across 
the country to the lakes. 

Q. What did the Governor of Virginia do ? 

A. Eg resolved to Betid a person to the French 



THE UNITED STATES. 2& 

Settlement on the Ohio to demand the cause of 
those hostile proceedings. 

Q. On whom did the choice fall ? 

A. On George Washington, then a young 
man, in the twenty-first year of his age. 

Q. When and where was Washington born ? 

A. On the 22d of February, 1732, in West- 
moreland county, Virginia. 

Q. How was his youth distinguished ? 

A. It was distinguished by his attention and 
progress in his studies, and great regard for truth. 

Q. Can you relate any remarkable instance 
of his candor ? 

A. Yes; it is related that his father once 
gave him a little hatchet, with which in his 
youthful sport, he destroyed a valuable young- 
apple tree. His father, being very angry, asked 
who had destroyed the tree. Young George, 
heat tag it, ran to his father and said, "Father, 
you know that I cannot tell a lie ; I did it with 
my hatchet." 

Q. How far were the French forts on the Ohio 
from the Virginia colony ? . 

A. The distance was about 400 miles, 200 of 
which were through a wilderness inhabited by 
hostile tribes of Indians. 

Q. How did Washington travel? 

A. He started on horseback, but before he 
had proceeded far his horse failed. He then 
proceeded on foot, with a musket in his hand 
and a pack on his baek. He reached the French 
settlement, delivered the message to the com- 
mander, and returned safely tr> Virginia. 



30 HISTORY OF 

Q. What have you to observe of the reply of 
the French commander? 

A. The reply did not give satisfaction, and 
the Governor of Virginia immediately organized 
a regiment to support the claims of Great Britain 

Q. Who was appointed commander of this 
regiment ? 

A. Mr. Fry was appointed colonel, and young 
Washington lieutenant-colonel ; but on the death 
of Fry, which happened shortly afterwards, the 
command devolved upon Washington. 

Q. Where did Washington proceed? 

A. He marched forward to attack the French 
at Fort Duquesne, near the place where Pitts- 
burg now stands. 

Q. What happened before he reached that 
place ? 

A. Before he reached the fort, he was informed 
that the French had been strongly reinforced. 

Q. What did he do ? 

A. He fell back to a fort which he had re- 
i--«mtly thrown up. 

Q. What took place there? 

A. He was there attacked by the French, and 
made a brave resistance, but he was at last com- 
pelled to capitulate. 

Q. What happened in 1754? 

A. General Braddock arrived in Virginia with 
authority of commander-in-chief of the English 
forces in America. 

Q. What did Braddock do? 

A. Despising the prudent advice of Washing- 
ton, he pushed forward to Fort Duquesne. 



TEE UNITED STATES. 31 

Q. What was the consequence? 

A. Before he reached the fort, he was sud- 
denly attacked by a body of French and Indians 

Q. What followed ? 

A. After making a brave resistance, the Eng- 
lish were totally defeated. 

O. What is said of Braddock? 

.4. He did all that a brave general could do ; 
but after having three horses shot under him, he 
fell mortally wounded. 

Q. What is said of Washington ? 

A. Washington had two horses shot under 
him. and four balls passed through his coat, yet 
he escaped unhurt. 

Q. How many of the British were killed i* 
this battle ? 

Q. About seven hundred ; and out of eighty- 
five pincers, only twenty-one survived. 

Q. About the same time, what took place in 
the eastern colonies? 

A. General Shirley, of Massachusetts, led an 
expedition against Canada ; but it was unsuc- 
cessful : and Oswego was taken by the French. 

Q. What took place in 1759 ? 

.1 Niagara was tak -^ by Sir William John- 
~m. and Quebec by General Wolfe. 

Q. What is related of Wolfe? 

.{. fie received a mortal wound in the mo- 
ment of victory, and was carried to the rear of 
the army. When in the agonies of death, he 
heard the shout : " They fiy, they fly P' " Who 
fly?" asked the dying hero, and being told _ tliftt 



32 HISTORY OF 

it was the French, he replied : " I die happy ;" 
and immediately expired. 

Q. What is related of Montcalm, the French 
commander ? 

A. Montcalm also fell mortally wounded ; and 
being told that he could survive only a few mo- 
ments, he replied : "So much the better; I shall 
not then live to see the surrender of Quebec." 

Q. What took place the following year? 

A. Canada was reduced to a British province. 



CHAPTER VI. 
The Causes of tli£ Revolution. 

Q. What may be observed of the colonies 
up to this period? 

A. Up to this period the colonies expressed a 
warm attachment for England, and felt proud 
of their connection with one of the most pow- 
erful -nations of Europe. 

Q. What were some of the causes which led 
to the American Revolution ? 

A. Shortly after the French war, the British 
government began to encroach upon the rights 
of the colonies, and wished to raise a revenue 
by taxing them without their consent. 

Q. What was the first act of oppression, 
passed by the British parliament towards the 
American colonies? 



THE UNITED STATES. ,33 

A. It was the famous Stamp Act, passed in 
the year 1765. 

Q. What was the nature of this act ? 

A. By this act, the Americans were compelled 
to use stamped paper for all notes, bonds, and 
other legal instruments, on which paper a heavy 
duty was to be paid to the British government. 

Q. What did the Americans do, when they 
heard of the passage of this act? 

A. They shut up the courts of justice, and 
the people settled their disputes by arbitration ; 
they then formed an association against import- 
ing or using British goods. 

Q. What took place in 1766 ? 

A. The opposition to the stamp act was so 
great, that it was repealed in 1766. 

Q. What was the next act of oppression on 
the part of the British parliament ? 

A. In 1767, a duty was laid on tea, glass, pa- 
per, and several other articles, imported to the 
colonies. 

Q. What followed the passage of this act ? 

A. The flame of opposition increased in Ame- 
rica to such a degree, that in 1770, the British 
parliament repealed the duties on all articles, 
except three pence per pound on tea, 

Q. In 1773 how did the people of Boston ex- 
press their opposition to the duty on tea? 

A. A party of men, disguised as Indians, 
went on board the ships, during the night, and 
threw the tea, consisting of 342 chests, into the 
harbor. 
3 



34 HISTORY OF 

Q. When the news of this action reached 
England, what did the parliament do ? 

A. An act was passed, by which the port of 
Boston was closed, and the government trans- 
ferred to Salem. 

Q. How did the people of Maryland express 
their opposition to the duty on tea ? 

A They assembled in several places, and 
compelled the persons, who paid the duty, to 
burn the tea publicly. On one occasion, at 
Annapolis, they burned not only the tea, but 
also the vessel in which it was imported. 

Q. What other tyrannical act was passed 
about this time ? 

A. An act was passed by the British parlia- 
ment, by which, all persons indicted for capital 
offences, were to be sent to England for trial. 

Q. When and where did the first Continental 
Congress meet? 

A. At Philadelphia, in the year 1774. 

Q. What agreement was entered into ? 

A. An agreement was entered into, called the 
Solemn League and Covenant, by which the 
members determined to suspend all intercourse 
with Great Britain until their rights should be 
restored. 

Q. Who was the first President of the Conti- 
nental Congress? 

A. Peyton Randolph, of Virginia. 

Q. What was commenced about this time ? 

A. A regular enlistment of soldiers. 



THE UNITED STATES. 



35- 




Battle of Bunker Hill. 

CHAPTER VII. 
The Revolutionary War. 

Q. Where was the first battle fought in the 
Revolution ? 

A. At Lexington, in the year 1775. 

Q. What occasioned the battle of Lexington ? 

A. On the 19th of April, a body of British 
troops was sent to destroy some military stores 
collected at Concord; but in passing through 
Lexington they were met by a small party of 
Americans who had assembled to oppose their 
progress. 

Q. What was the issue of the battle ? 

A. The Americans were dispersed, and the 
British troops proceeded to Concord, 



36 HISTORY OP 

Q. What followed this event ? 

A. The Americans, roused by the report of 
the muskets, assembled by hundreds, and the 
British were obliged to retreat to Boston. 

Q. What happened to them in their retreat ? 

A. They were attacked by the Americans, 
and sixty-five of their number killed, and one 
hundred and eighty wounded. 

Q. What did Congress do immediately after 
this event ? 

A. It voted that thirty thousand men should 
be raised in the New England colonies. 

Q. In the mean time what was done ? 

A. Crown Point and several other forts and 
magazines in the possession of the English were 
seized by the Americans. 

Q. What did the Americans resolve ? 

A. They resolved, if possible, to drive the 
British from Boston. 

Q. For this purpose, what did they do ? 

A. They directed Colonel Prescott, with a 
body of one thousand men, to throw up an in- 
trenchment on Bunker's Hill. 

Q. What mistake took place? 

A. Prescott took possession of Breed's Hill, 
an eminence much nearer Boston. 

Q. When did Prescott gain possession of the 
hill? 

A. He reached the place during the night of 
the 16th of June, and worked so silently that the 
English had no intimation of his design until the 
sun, on the return of day, beamed upon the 
American works. 



THE UNITED STATES. 37 

Q. What did the British do when they beheld 
Breed's Hill occupied by the Americans ? 

A. After firing upon the works from the ships 
in the harbor, without effect, General Gage sent 
General Howe and General Pigot, with three 
thousand men to drive the Americans from the 
hill. 

Q. What followed? 

A. The memorable battle of Bunker's Hill, 
during which the British troops were twice re- 
pulsed, with a heavy loss ; but being reinforced, 
they finally succeeded in carrying the fortifica- 
tion. 

Q. How did the Americans fight ? 

A. They fought with determined bravery ; 
when all their ammunition was exhausted, they 
continued the battle with the butt-end of their 
muskets, and were only driven from their works 
at the point of the bayonet. 

Q. What was the loss on both sides ? 

A The British lost one thousand and fifty- 
four, in killed and wounded, and the Americans 
thirty-nine killed and two hundred and twenty- 
eight wounded. 

Q. What American officers were engaged in 
this action ? 

A. Generals Warren, Putnam, and Starke; 
the former of whom was killed. 

Q. During the battle of Bunker's Hill, what 
town was set on fire ? 

A. Charlestown ; a few bombs were thrown 
into it, and the place soon enveloped in flames. 



38 HISTORY OF 

Q. After this battle, who was chosen as Com- 
mander-in-chief of the American forces ? 

A George Washington, then in the forty- 
fourth year of his age. 

Q. When and where did Washington take 
command of the army ? 

A. On the 2d of July, 1775, at Cambridge, 
near Boston. 

Q. What was the number of the army at this 
time ? 

A. About fourteen thousand men. 

Q. Who were sent to invade Canada ? 

A. Generals Schuyler and Montgomery ; but 
the former being unable to proceed on account 
of sickness, the whole command devolved on 
Montgomery. 

Q. What place did Montgomery capture ? 

A. Montreal: November 13th, 1775. 

Q. Who was sent to aid Montgomery ? 

A. General Arnold. 

Q. What place did they attempt to take by 
storm ? 

A. The city of Quebec. 

Q. What was the result ? 

A. The attempt proved unsuccessful and fatal 
to the heroic Montgomery, who fell in the act of 
scaling the walls. 

Q. Of what country was Montgomery a na- 
tive? 

A. Of Ireland, which he left in trder to aid 
the Americans in gaining their liberty. 

Q. What was the first operation of General 
Washington ? 



THE UNITED STATES. 39 

A. The expulsion of the British from Boston. 

Q. How did he effect this ? 

A. He erected a battery on Dorchester Point, 
which soon obliged General Howe to abandon 
the city. 

Q. When did the British leave Boston ? 

A. On the 17th of March they embarked for 
Halifax. 

Q. By whom was the city of Charleston, the 
capital of South Carolina, attacked ? 

A. By Sir Peter Parker, with several British 
vessels of war. 

Q. What was the result ? 

A. After a violent assault, which lasted for 
ten hours, they were compelled to retire. 

Q. Who defended the city? 

A. Colonel Moultrie. 

Q. On the 7th of June what motion was made 
in Congress ? 

A. A motion was made by Richard Henry 
Lee, of Virginia, and seconded by John Adams, 
of Massachusetts, declaring the colonies free 
and independent. 

Q. When did the Declaration of Indepen- 
dence take place ? 

A. On the fourth of July, in the year 1776. 

Q. Who wrote the Declaration of Indepen- 
dence ? 

A. Thomas Jefferson. 

Q. How many colonies were there at that 
time? 

A. Thirteen. 

Q. What were they declared to be ? 



40 HISTORY OF 

A. They were declared to be Free, Sovereign, 
and Independent States. 

Q Where was Congress then assembled ? 

A. In Philadelphia. 

Q. Who was then President of the Congress V 

A. John Hancock. 

Q. How did the signers pledge themselves to 
support this declaration ? 

A. They pledged their lives, their fortunes, 
and their sacred honor. 

Q. What was the effect of the Declaration of 
Independence ? 

A. By it all connection with Great Britain 
was for ever dissolved. 



CHAPTER VIII. 
The Revolutionary War — continued. 

Q. When and where was the first battle 
fought after the Declaration of Independence? 

A. On the 27th of August, on Long Island. 

Q. Which party was victorious ? 

A. The British. 

Q. Who commanded the Americans? 

A. General Sullivan. 

Q. By whom were the British commanded 1 

A. Sir Henry Clinton, Percy, and Lord Corn- 
wallis. 

Q. Can you tell the loss on both sides ? 

A. The British lost four hundred, but the 



THE UNITED STATES. 



41 



Americans lost about one thousand in killed, 
wounded and prisoners 

Q. What incident occurred about this time, 
that exhibits the noble and independent spirit 
of General Washington V 

A. Letters were addressed to him by General 
Howe, commander of the British ; but as these 
letters were directed to George Washington, and 
not to him in his official capacity, Washington 
refused to receive them. 

Q. When he was told that they contained 
grants of pardon, &c, what did he reply ? 

A. He replied, that the Americans had com- 
mitted no wrong, and therefore wanted no par- 
don : they were only contending for their rights 
and liberties 

Q. After the battle of Long Island, what did 
the British do ? 

A. They took possession of New York, Sep- 
tember 15th. 

Q. Where did the Americans retire ? 

A. They retired to White Plains, where, on 
the 28th of October, a severe action took place, 
in which several hundred were killed and wound- 
ed on both sides ; yet neither party could claim 
the victory. 

Q. After this battle where did Washington 
retire ? 

A. He retired to Newark ; from thence he 
passed through New Brunswick, Princeton, 
Trenton, and finally crossed the Delaware, being 
closely pursued by the British under Lord Corn- 
wallis, 



42 



HISTORY OF 



Q. Where was General Lee taken prisoner ? 

A. At Baskenridge, near New Brunswick. 

Q. During the winter of this year, what daring 
enterprise did Washington accomplish ? 

A. On the 25th of December he recrossed 
the Delaware, and surprised a large body of 
Hessian troops at Trenton, and took them pri- 
soners. . 

Q. What was the number of the prisoners? 

A. About one thousand and forty-eight. 

Q. Who were the Hessians ? 

A. They were German soldiers, hired by Eng- 
land to fight against the Americans. 

Q. What did Washington then do ? 

A. Taking with him a great quantity of arms 
and ammunition that fell into his hands, he re- 
crossed the Delaware the same day. 

Q. What was Washington's next exploit ? 

A. On the 3d of January, 1777, he proceeded 
to Princeton, defeated a party of British, with a 
loss of three hundred men, and compelled the 
remainder, about three hundred in number, to 
surrender themselves as prisoners of war. . 

Q. In this action who was killed ? 

'A. General Mercer, of Virginia. 

Q. What is said of these achievements? 

A. They diffused universal joy among the 
Americans, and inspired them with fresh ardor 
in the cause of freedom. 

Q. During this spring, what took place in 
Connecticut ? 

A. Governor Tryon was sent by the British 
to destroy some military stores at Danbury, 



THE UNITED STATES. 43 

Q. t)id he succeed in his design ? 

A. He destroyed the stores, and partly burnt 
the town. 

Q. What happened on his return? 

A. He was attacked and defeated by the 
Americans under General Wooster, who unfor- 
tunately lost his life. 

Q. What was the object of General Howe ? 

A. To gain possession of Philadelphia. 

Q. For this purpose what did he do ? 

A. He embarked his troops at New York, 
sailed up the Chesapeake Bay, and landing at 
the head of Elk River, he commenced his march 
to Philadelphia. 

Q. When and where was he opposed '( 

A. On the 11th of September, on the banks 
df the river Brandy wine, not far from Wilming- 
ton. 

Q. What was the result of the battle? 

A. The Americans, under General Washing- 
ton, were repulsed. 

Q. What two distinguished foreigners served 
under the American banners, in the battle ? 

A. Lafayette, of France, and Pulaski, of Po- 
land ; the former of whom was wounded. 

$. Who was Lafayette ? 

A. He was a French nobleman, who came to 
this country to assist the Americans in gaining 
their independence. 

Q. Who was Pulaski ? 

A. He was a native of Poland ; he came to 
this country in order to assist the countrymen 
of Washington in maintaining their rights, and 



44 HISTORY OP 

in obtaining their liberties. He was killed in 
the American cause, at Savannah. 

Q. When did the British take possession of 
Philadelphia ? 

A. On the 26th of September, 1777. 

Q. What took place on the 4th of October ? 

A. An attempt was made by General Wash- 
ington to surprise a detachment of the British 
at Germantown ; but the attempt was unsuc- 
cessful. 

Q. Where had the Americans two forts 
erected ? 

A. They had one on Mud Island, below Phi- 
ladelphia, called Fort Mifflin, and another on 
the Jersey Shore, called Red Bank. 

Q. What have you to observe of these forts ? 

A. They were repeatedly attacked by the 
British, and finally taken, but not until they 
were entirely battered down, and all the cannon 
dismounted. 

Q. Where did Washington take up his winter 
quarters ? 

A. At Valley Forge, about twenty miles from 
Philadelphia. 

Q. What have you to observe of the condition 
of the Americans at Valley Forge ? 

A. They were destitute of almost every thing, 
shoes, stockings, blankets, tents, &c, and had 
nothing but temporary huts to shelter them from 
the inclemency of the weather. 

0. What took place at Bennington ? 

.4. Colonel Baum, the British commander, was 
defeated by the Americans under General Starke 



THE UNITED STATES. 45 

Q. When did this engagement take place ? 

A. On the 16th of August, 1777. 

Q. Who was the commander-in-chief of the 
British forces in this quarter ? 

A. General Burgoyne. 

Q. Who, at that time, was appointed to the 
command of the American forces ? 

A. General Gates. 

Q. What battle took place on the 19th of 
September ? 

A. The battle of Stillwater, on the west side 
of the Hudson river. 

Q. What party gained the victory ? 

A. The battle was indecisive, though the 
Americans had the advantage. 

Q. Where did Burgoyne intrench himself? 

A. At Saratoga. 

Q. When was the battle of Saratoga fought ? 

A. On the 7th of October. 

Q. Who distinguished himself in this battle ? 

A. Gen. Arnold, who was severely wounded. 

Q. What took place on the 17th of October, 
1777? 

A. Burgoyne was compelled to surrender him- 
self and his whole army to General Gates as pri- 
soners of war. 

Q. What was the number of troops that sur- 
rendered to General Gates at Saratoga ? 

A. About 5,790 men, together with all their 
arms, ammunition, and military stores. 



46 



HISTORY OP 



CHAPTER IX. 
The Revolutionary War — continued. 

Q. What took place in the early part of the 
year 1778 ? 

A. A treaty of alliance was concluded be- 
tween France and the United States. 

Q. Can you name the American commission- 
ers with whom the treaty was negotiated ? 

A. Dr. Franklin, Silas Dean, and Arthur Lee. 

Q. Who was then King of France ? 

A. Louis the Sixteenth. 

Q. When the news of this treaty reached 
England, what was done by the British govern- 
ment ? 

A. War was immediately declared against 
France, and commissioners were sent to Ame- 
rica to settle the difficulties with the colonies. 

Q. Were these commissioners successful ? 

A. No ; their offers were rejected. 

Q. What took place on the 22d of June, 1778 V 

A. The British evacuated Philadelphia. 

Q. What occurred on the 28th of June? 

A . The battle of Monmouth took place. 

Q. Can you describe the battle ? 

A. The battle was conducted for some time 
with great bravery on both sides; at length 
General Lee retreated } and threw the American 
lines into disorder ; but Washington coming up 
at this moment, order was a^ain restored. The 



THE UNITED STATES. 47 

battle ended with the day ; and during the night 
the British silently withdrew and continued their 
march to New York. 

Q. What have you to observe of Lee ? 

A. Lee was tried for disobedience of orders, 
and disrespect to the commander-in-chief, and 
suspended from the service. He never joined 
the army again. He died in the fall of 1782 in 
Philadelphia. 

Q, What assistance arrived about this time ? 

A. In July a fleet under the command of 
Count d'Estaign, sent over by the king of France, 
arrived on the coast of the United States, bring- 
ing aid to the Americans. 

Q. What was done by the fleet ? 

A. Nothing of any particular importance ; at 
the close of the season it sailed to the West In- 
dies, where it remained during the winter. 

Q. What settlement was destroyed about this 
time? 

,4. The settlement of Wyoming. 

Q. Where was Wyoming? 

A. It was situated near the banks of the Sus- 
quehanna, in the present county of Luzerne, 
Pennsylvania, 

Q. Can you describe its destruction? 

A. It was attacked by a party of tories and 
Indians ; the men were butchered and the women 
i nd children locked up in the houses, which were 
then set on fire, and the unfortunate inmates 
were consumed in the flames. 

<J. Where did Washington pass the winter of 
1778 and 1779? 



48 HISTORY OP 

A. At Middlebrook, in New Jersey. 

Q. What took place in July ? 

A. Stony Point, on the Hudson, was captured 
by General Wayne. 

Q. In the mean time, what took place in the 
south ? 

A. The British took possession of Savannah 
and Sunbury, in Georgia. 

Q. What took place at Savannah ? 

A. The Americans, under General Lincoln, 
in connection with the French fleet, attempted 
to retake it, but the attempt was unsuccessful. 

Q. What distinguished personage was killed 
during this attack ? 

A. The brave and patriotic Pulaski, a native 
of Poland, who had come to this country to aid 
the Americans to gain their independence. 

Q. How was the campaign of 1780 com- 
menced ? 

A. The British laid siege to Charleston, the 
capital of South Carolina. 

Q. What was the result? 

A. The city was bravely defended for some 
time, but was at length compelled to surrender, 
M«y 11th. 

Q. What took place on the 16th of August? 

A. The battle of Camden, in which General 
Gates was defeated by the British, under Lord 
Cornwallis. 

Q. What troops distinguished themselves in 
this battle ? 

A. The regular troops of Maryland and Dela- 



THK UNITED STATES. 49 

Q. Who commanded these troops ? 

A. The brave and illustrious Baron De Kalb, 
who maintained his position until overpowered 
by numbers and taken prisoner. 

Q. Who was "De Kalb? 

A. He was a Prussian General, who, like 
Lafayette and Pulaski, left his home and came 
to this country to assist the Americans in gain- 
ing their independence. 

Q. What was his fate ? 

A. He died of the wounds he received in this 
battle. 

Q. What did he say to a British officer be- 
fore his death? 

A. He said : " I die the death I have always 
prayed for ; the death of a soldier fighting for 
the rights of man." 
p Q. Where was the next battle fought ? 

A. At King's Mountain, North Carolina. 

Q. What party gained the victory ? 

A. The Americans, under Colonel Campbell 

Q. What took place in July ? 

A. A French fleet, under the command of De 
Ternay, arrived at Rhode Island. 

Q. What was the number of troops on board 
this fleet ? 

A. About 6,000, under the command of Count 
de Rochambeau. 

Q. What naval victory have yon to record 
during this year ? 

A. In September of this year, Paul Jones, 
sailing under the American flag, gained an im- 
portant victory over a British frigate, on the 

4 



1)0 HISTORY OF 

coast of Scotland. The Order of Merit was 
conferred on him by Louis XVI, of France, and 
Congress gave him a vote of thanks and pre- 
sented him with a gold medal. 

Q. For what was this year distinguished ? 

A. For the treachery of General Arnold. 

Q, What did Arnold intend to do ? 

A. He intended to betray West Point into 
the hands of the British. 

Q. Who was the agent with whom Arnold 
had an interview? 

A. A British Major, named John Andre. 

Q. How were the designs of Arnold prevented? 

A. Andre was detected on his return to New 
York. 

Q. Can you relate the particulars of his cap- 
ture? 

-■1. He was returning to New York in the 
dress of a private citizen, when he was stopped 
by three American soldiers, who searched hhn, 
and found a drawing of West Point, and other 
papers concealed in one of his boots. 

Q. When did this take place? 

A. On the 23d of September, 1780. 

Q. What did Andre do to obtain his release? 

A. He offered his captors a purse of gold, 

and a valuable watch, if they would let him go: 

but these noble-hearted patriots valued their 

try above gold ; they refused to release him, 

and immediately led him to the American camp. 

Q. What was the fate of Andre ? 

A. He was tried and executed as a spy. 

Q. What became of Arnold? 



THE UNITED STATES. 



51 



A. Ho made his escape to New York, and 
received, as the reward of his treachery, the ap- 
pointment of General in the British army. 




Surrender of Cornwallis. 

CHAPTER X. 
The Revolution — concluded. 

Q. After the defeat of General Gates, who 
was appointed to the command of the Southern 
army ? 

A. General Greene, in 1781. 

Q. What took place on the 17th of January, 
this year ? 



52 HISTORY OP 

A. The Americans, under General Morgan, 
gained a signal victory over the British, com- 
manded by Tarlton, in the battle of the Cow- 
pens. 

Q. Which party gained the victory in the 
battle of Hobkirk's Hill ? 

A. The British, under Lord Rawdon. 

Q. Who commanded the Americans ? 

A. General Greene. 

Q. What occurred at Eutaw Springs, in South 
Carolina ? 

A. General Greene completely routed the 
main body of the British army. 

Q. After this battle, where did Lord Corn- 
wallis fortify himself? 

A. Yorktown, in Virginia. 

Q. When General Washington heard of the 
position of Corn wallis what did he do ? 

A. He left his camp at White Plains, crossed 
the Hudson with his army, and passing rapidly 
through New Jersey and Pennsylvania, he ar- 
rived at the head of Elk River, on his way to 
Yorktown. 

Q. By whom was he joined ? 

A. Marquis de Lafayette, with reinforcements. 

Q. While Washington was on his march, 
what pleasing intelligence did he receive ? 

A. He heard of the arrival of a French fleet, 
under the command of Count de Grasse. 

Q. At the same time, what fleet appeared off 
the Capes? 

A. A British fleet under the command of' 
Admiral Greaves. 



toe u«it»;d states, 5& 

Q. What action took place ? 

A. A slight action took place between the 
two fleets, in which the French had the advan- 
tage, and remained in possession of the Bay. 

Q. Tn the mean time, what did General Wash- 
ington do ? 

A. He embarked his forces, and arrived at 
Yorktown. 

Q. What was now commenced ? 

A. A close siege was now commenced, and 
carried on with so much vigor, that Lord Corn- 
wallis was obliged to surrender himself and his 
whole army to General Washington, as prisoners 
of war. 

Q. When did this event take place ? 

A. On the 19th of October, 1781. 

Q. What was the number of the British troops 
that surrendered ? 

A. They exceeded seven thousand. 

Q. What amount of military stores were taken? 

.4. Seventy-five brass, and 109 iron cannon, 
7,794 muskets, 28 standards, besides many other 
valuable articles 

Q. What did General Washington do imme- 
diately after the surrender of Cornwallis ? 

A. He ordered divine service to be performed 
in the different brigades of the army. 

Q. When the n<?ws of this glorious event 
reached Congress, what did that body recom- 
mend ? 

A. It recommended a day of general thanks- 
giving throughout the United States. 



54 HISTORY OF 

Q. After the surrender of Cornwallis, what 
became of the British forces in the south ? 

A. They evacuated all their posts in South 
Carolina and Georgia, and joined the main army 
in New York. 

Q. After this, what did Great Britain do ? 

A. She resolved to discontinue a war which 
had already exhausted the nation, and reflected 
so much discredit on her arms. v 

Q. When were pacific overtures made to the 
American people ? 

A. Early in the spring of 1782, when both 
nations ceased from hostilities. 

Q. Who were the American commissioners 
with whom the treaty of peace was negotiated? 

A. John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Henry 
Laurens, and John Jay. 

Q. Where did they meet ? 

A. In the city of Paris. 

Q. When was the treaty concluded and 
signed ? 

A On the 30th of November, 1782, in which 
the United Colonies were admitted to be "Free, 
Sovereign, and Independent States." 

Q. When was it ratified by the United States ? 

A. On the 3d of September, 1783. 

Q. Where was Congress in session at that time? 

A. At Annapolis, in Maryland. 

Q. How long had the war lasted ? 

A. About eight years. 

Q. What did the war cost Great Britain ? 

A. The sum of one hundred million pounds 
sterling and 50,000 of her subjects. 



THE UNITED STATES. 55 

Q. What took place on the 25th of Novem- 
ber, 1783 ? 

A. The British evacuated New York, and 
General Washington, accompanied by Governor 
Clinton, entered that city in triumph. 

Q. After peace was concluded, what did Gen- 
eral Washington do ? 

A. He resigned his military commission, and 
retired to his peaceful home at Mount Vernon, 
in Virginia. 

Q. About this time what society was formed ? 

A. The officers of the American army, before 
they separated, formed themselves into a society 
which they called Cincinnati, after Cincinnatus, 
the celebrated Roman General, who, after he 
had vanquished the enemies of his country, re- 
tired to his farm. 



CHAPTER XI. 



Adoption of the Constitution of the United States 
— Difficulties with France, doc. 

Q. Previous to the formation of the present 
Constitution, by what had the United States been 
governed ? 

A. By the Articles of Confederation. 

Q. What have you to observe of them ? 

A. After the dangers of the war had passed 
away, they were found wholly insufficient for the 
public wants. 



56 

Q. What was determined on ? 

A. The formation of a constitution, which 
might supply the deficiencies of the old one. 

Q Where did delegates assemble for that v 
purp- 

A. In the city of Philadelphia, on the 25th 
of May. 1787. 

Q. Who was chosen president of this assembly? 

A. General Washington. 

Q. How long did the delegates deliberate? 

A. About four months. 

Q. After die delegates had agreed on the form 
of the constitution, what did tobey do 7 

A. They sent it to Congress, and by this body 
it was sent to the different States for their con- 
sideration. 

Q. Was it accepted by all the State*? 

A. No; North Carolina and Rhode Tsland at 
first rejected it, but, they afterwards adopted it 

Q. By the- constitution, in whom is the legis- 
lative power vested '■ 

A. In a Congress, consisting of a Senate and 
House of Representative 

Q. Where did the first Congress meet ? 

A. In the city of New York, in April, 1788. 

Q. Who was elected the first President of the 
United Stat- tl 

A. General Washington, who was then in the 
57th year of his age. 

Q. Who was chosen Vice President ? 

A. John Adams, of Massachusetts. 

Q. Who were the other prominent officers of 
the government ? 



try : Henry Km>x. Secretary 
of War: Edmund Randolph, Atfo • ral ; 

John Jay. I - f th<_- Unit 

rst acts of 

! 

Fbey laid the importation of 

se, and on 1 I - 

Q. When was the • " ~ 

- ■[': 

-4. In I 4 for 

twenty years. 

'/. What distinguished man 

A. Franklin died at Philadelphia, 

while Governor of Pennsylvania, ge of 

ars. 

What may he observed of Franklin '? 
A. Be was a poor boy. and apprenticed to 
learn the art of printing, but by applying himself 
to study during his hours «.f leisure, he arcs 
eminence in science, and filled many positions 
of honor and distinction among his coun trym en. 
Of what was he the discoverer? 
.4. He was the discoverer of the electrical 
quality of lightning. 

Q. What useful invention followed thi? disco- 
very ".' 

A. The lightning-rod. 

Q. What disturbance took p] if this 

time? 

A. The inhabitants of the western part of 
highly incensed by certain 



58 HISTORY OF 

measures of Congress, for raising a revenue by 
imposing a tax upon distilled spirits. 

Q. What did the President do ? 

A. Washington sent a military force into that 
section of the State, but the difficulty was set- 
tled without bloodshed. 

Q. What troubles arose on the north-western 
frontier ? 

A. War with the Indians. 

Q. What was the result of this war ? 

A. General Hamer was defeated by the In- 
dians, near Chilicothe, in Ohio ; after this, Gen- 
eral St. Clair, was sent against them with addi- 
tional forces, but he also was defeated near the 
Miami, leaving nearly 600 of his men dead upon 
the field. 

Q. What took place in 1794? 

A. The Indians were finally defeated by Gen- 
eral Wayne, who succeeded St. Clair, and com- 
pelled to sign a treaty of peace. 

Q. In what were the United States involved ? 

A. They were involved in difficulties, grow- 
ing out of the convulsion of Europe. 

Q. What did the French do? 

A. They put their king to death, then abol 
ished the regal government, and established a 
republic on its ruins. 

Q. What did they look for from America ? 

A. They expected that the people of the 
United States would assist them, and sent over 
to America Mr. Genet, as their agent. 

Q. What is said of the conduct of Genet ? 

A. He conducted himself with great haughti- 



THE UNITED STATES. 59 

nesa, and treated the American Republic like a 
tributary country; bis conduct was disavowed 
by the French government, and Mr. Fauchet 
was sent over in his place. 

Q. What course did Washington determine to 
pursue, during the distracting wars of Europe ? 

A. He determined to observe a strict neu- 
trality. 

Q. How long was Washington President of 
the United States? 

A. He served two terms, or eight years. 

Q. At the end of his second term, what did 
he do? 

A. He declined a re-election, issued a tare- 
well address to the American people, and re- 
tired from public life. k 

Q. Who succeeded him in the office of Presi- 
dent ? 

A. John Adams, of Massachusetts. 

Q. Who was chosen Vice President ? 

A. Thomas Jefferson, of Virginia. 

Q. During the administration of Mr. Adams, 
what is said of France ? 

A. The French Directory made, with much 
insolence, certain unreasonable demands of the 
United States, and assumed a hostile attitude. 

Q. What did the United States do ? 

A. They immediately took measures of de- 
fence ; General Washington was appointed Com- 
mander-in-chief of the Army, and orders were 
given for the capture of French "vessels. 

Q. What followed ? 

A. Commodore Truxton, commanded the 



60 HISTORY oe 

Constellation, American ship-of-war, captured 
two French vessels. 

Q. What was the effect of these measures ? 

A. The French government was soon induced 
to make overtures of peace. 

Q. What happened about this period ? 

A. The Republic was destined to mourn the 
death of General Washington. 

Q. When and where did Washington die ? 

A. On the 14th of December, 1799, at Mount 
Vernon, in the 68th year of his age. 

Q. Of what disease did he die i 

A. He died of an inflammation of the throat, 
after an illness of only two days. 

Q. When and by whom was the city of Wash- 
ington laid out ? 

A. In 1791, by the distinguished man whose 
name it bears ? 

Q. When was the seat of government re- 
moved to Washington ? 

A. In the year 1800. 

Q. What city had previously been the seat 
of government ? 

A. The city of Philadelphia, for the space of 
ten years. 

Q. Who succeeded Mr Adams as President 
of the United States ? 

A. Thomas Jefferson, in 1801. 

Q. Who, at the same time, was chosen Vice- 
President ? 

A. Aaron Burr. 

Q. About this time, what new source of vex- 
ation arose? 



THE UNITED 8TATE3 61 

A. The piracies of the Barbary States. 

Q. What did Tripoli demand? 

A. Certain tributes, which the United States 
refused to pay. 

0. What followed ? 

A. Several vessels belonging to the United 
States were captured. 

Q. In 1803, what took place ? 

A. The American frigate Philadelphia, run 
aground near Tripoli, and all her officers and 
men were taken prisoners, and the vessel seized 
by the Tripolitans. 

Q. How were the American prisoners treated ? 

A. The officers were treated as prisoners of 
war, but the men were treated with the greatest 
cruelty ; they were chained to loaded carts, and 
compelled to drag them through the town. 

Q. Tn 1804 what took place? 

A. Lieutenant Stephen Decatur sailed into 
the very harbor of Tripoli, and burnt the frigate 
Philadelphia. 

Q. On what terms did the American prisoners 
obtain their liberty ? 

A . On the payment of sixty-thousand dollars. 

Q. From what nation was the territory of 
Louisiana purchased ? 

A. From France, in 1803, for the sum of 
$15,000,000. 

Q. What took place in the year 1807 ? 

.4. Aaron Burr was tried for conspiracy. 

Q. Of what was he accused ? 

A. He was accused of an attempt, to separate 
the Southern and Western States from the rest, 



62 HISTORY OP 

and to erect them into a separate government, 
the capital of which should be New Orleans. 

Q. What was the result of the trial? 

A. He was acquitted for want of sufficient 
evidence. 

Q. Who had been previously killed in a duel 
by Burr ? 

A. Alexander Hamilton, in 1804, at Hoboken, 
New Jersey. 

Q. What expedition was undertaken about 
this time ? 

A. An expedition was undertaken by Lewis 
and Clarke to explore the Missouri river ; they 
ascended that river, crossed the Rocky Moun- 
tains, reached the head waters of the Columbia, 
and descended that river to the Pacific ocean. 



! ' 



THE UNITED STATES. 



63 




Perry's Victory. 



CHAPTER XII. 



The Late War with England. 
Q. What was the principal cause of the late 



with England 



A. The practice authorized by the British 
government of searching American vessels, and 
taking from them such persons as were thought 
U) be natives of Great Britain. 

Q, What have you to observe of this practice ? 

A. It was subject to great abuse, from the 
difficulty of distinguishing between British de- 
serters and American seamen. Moreover, the 
British officers were not always anxious to make 
this distinction, and on several occasions it was 



64 HISTORY OP 

believed that American citizens were compelled 
to serve in the British navj. 

Q. Was there any other cause * 

A. Yes ; England blockaded the ports of her 
enemies, and prevented American vessels from 
entering ; thus violating the rights of neutral 
nations. 

Q. When was war declared ? 

A. On the 18th of June, in the year 1812. 

Q. Who was President at this time ? 

A. James Madison, who succeeded Thomas 
Jefferson in 1809. 

Q. What was one of the first operations of 
the war ? 

A. The invasion of Canada by General Hull. 

Q. What was the result ? 

A. On the 16th of August General Hull dis- 
gracefully surrendered his whole army into the 
hands of the British. 

Q. When Hull returned to the States, what 
followed ? 

A. He was immediately tried by a court-mar- 
tial, found guilty of cowardice, and sentenced to 
be shot. 

Q. Was this sentence carried into execution ? 

A. No ; on account of his age, and the services 
he had rendered during the Revolution, he was 
pardoned by the President ; but his name was 
stricken from the roil of officers. 

Q. On the 1 9th of August, what took place ? 

A. The American frigate Constitution, com- 
manded by Captain Hull, captured the British 



THE UNITED STATES. 65 

frigate Guerriere, after an action of only twenty 
minutes. 

Q. What was the loss on both sides ? 

A. The Guerriere lost fifteen killed and sixty- 
four wounded, and that of the Constitution was 
seven killed and seven wounded. 

Q. On the 25th of October, what naval vic- 
tory was obtained? 

A. Commodore Decatur, commanding the 
American frigate United States, captured the 
British frigate Macedonian. 

Q. In this action, what was the loss on both 
sides ? 

A. The British lost thirty-six killed, sixty- 
eight wounded ; the American loss amounted to 
seven killed and five wounded. 

Q. What did Captain Jones achieve ? 

A. Captain Jones, who commanded the Wasp, 
captured the Frolic, a British sloop-of-war ; but 
on the same day they were both captured by a 
British frigate, 

Q. What took place in December ? 

A. The Constitution, then under command of 
Captain Bainbridge, captured the British frigate 
Java. 

Q. .What was the first operation of the year 
1813? 

A. A detachment of about 800 men under 
General Winchester was surprised and defeated 
by the British and Indians under General Proc- 
tor at French town. 

Q. What was the fate of those who surren- 
dered ? 



66 HISTORY OF 

A. They were nearly all inhumanly massacred 
by the Indians. 

Q. What took place in April ? 

.4. York, the capital of Upper Canada, was 
taken by the Americans under General Pike. 

Q. What was the fate of General Pike ? 

A. He was killed in the moment of victory 
by the explosion of a magazine. 

Q. What took place in May ? 

A. An attack was made on Sackett's Harbor 
by the British, but they were repulsed by the 
Americans under General Brown. 

Q. By whom was the British brig Peacock 
captured ? 

.4. By Captain Lawrence, who commanded 
the Hornet. 

Q. To what vessel was Lawrence afterwards 
transferred ? 

A. To the Chesapeake. 

Q. By whom was the Chesapeake captured ? 

A. By Captain Broke, who commanded the 
British frigate Shannon. 

Q. What was the fate of Captain Lawrence ? 

A. He fell mortally wounded in the beginning 
of the action. 

Q. What is related of him ? 

A. When carried below, wounded and bleed- 
ing 1 , he was asked if the colors should be struck? 
he replied, " No : they shall wave while I live;" 
and while he was able to speak he would exclaim, 
" Don't give up the ship !" 

Q. What was the most brilliant achievement 
of tins year ? 



THE UNITED STATES. 67 

A. Perry's victory on Lake Erie. 

Q. Can you describe the battle ? 

A. The flag ship of the Americans suffered 
severely in the beginning of the action, and be- 
ing in a sinking condition, Perry descended into 
an open boat, and passing through a shower of 
balls, transferred his flag to another of his vessels. 

Q. How long did the battle last ? 

A. It lasted about three hours. 

Q. What was the condition of the British 
fleet? 

,4. It was reduced almost to a total wreck. 

Q. After this victory what took place ? 

A. General Harrison embarked his forces, 
landed on the Canada shores, and defeated the 
British in the battle of the Thames. 

Q. In this battle who was killed? 

.4. The celebrated Indian chief, Tecuniseh, 
by Colonel Johnson. 



68 



HISTORY OF 




Bombardment of Fort McHenry. 

CHAPTER XIII. 
The Late War with England — concluded. 

0. What took place in July, 1814? 

A. General Brown defeated the British in the 
battle of Chippewa. 

Q. Who commanded the British 

A. General Drummond. 

Q. On the 25th of the same month what took 
place ? 

A. Generals Brown and Scott defeated the 
British at the battle of Bridgewater. 

Q. What took place at Plattsburg, on Lake 
Ohamplain ? 

A. A brilliant victory was obtained over the 
British fleet by the American squadron, com- 
manded by Commodore McDonough. 



THE UNITED STATES. 69 

Q. What was the number of men, and guns, 
on each fleet? 

A. The British fleet carried 1,050 men, and 
95 guns ; while the American force amounted to 
only 820 men and 85 guns. 

Q. What was the result of the battle ? 

A. The British naval force on the Lake was 
totally destroyed. 

Q. While the battle raged on the lake, what 
took place on land ? 

A. An attack was made on Plattsburg by the 
British, under the command of Sir George Pre- 
vost, but they were repulsed with a heavy loss. 

Q. What took place on the 24th of August ? 

.4 The" Americans were defeated at Bladens- 
burg. 

Q. Who were the respective commanders? 

A. General Ross commanded the British, and 
General Winder was the American commander. 

Q. Who distinguished himself on the part of 
the Americans in this battle ? 

^4. Commodore Barney, who commanded a 
small band of marines. 

Q. After the battle, what took place ? 

A. The British marched forward and took 
possession of the city of Washington. 

Q. What buildings were ordered to be burnt 
by General Ross? 

A. The capitol, the treasury, war, and navy 
offices. 

Q. What city was next attacked ? 

A. The city of Baltimore. 

Q. What took place on the 12th of September? 



70 



HISTORY OF 



A. The British landed at North Point, below 
the city, but were repulsed by the Americans 
under the command of General Strieker. 

Q. What was the fate of General Ross ? 

A. As he advanced at the head of his army, 
he was killed by an American rifleman. 

Q. What was done by the British fleet '? 

A. It bombarded Fort McHenry for about 
twenty-four hours, without doing any material 
injury. 

Q. What became of the British after the 
death of General Ross? 

A. They abandoned their attempts on Balti- 
more ; and embarking on board their fleet, they 
moved down the bay. 

Q. Previous to this time, what took place ? 

A. Overtures of peace were made by the 
Prince Regent of England. 

Q. Who were the American commissioners 
appointed to negotiate a peace ? 

A. They were Henry Clay, Jonathan Russell, 
John Quincy Adams, James A. Bayard, and 
Albert Gallatin. 

Q. Where did they meet ? 

A. They met at Ghent. 

Q. While negotiations were in progress, what 
took place in the South ? 

A. A large British force under General Pack- 
enham, made an attack upon the city of New 
Orleans. 

Q. Who commanded the Americans? 

A. General Jackson. 

Q. Of what did Jackson make a breastwork ? 



THE UNITED STATES. 71 

A. Of bales of cotton. 

0. When did the battle of New Orleans take 

T>lace ? 

^1 On the 8th of January, 1815. 

O What was the loss of the British i 

A. They lost 700 killed, 1,400 wounded, and 

500 prisoners. . q 

O What was the loss of the Americans i 
A They lost only 7 killed and 6 wounded. 
Q. What was the fate of Generals Packen- 

ham and Gibbs? 

A They were both mortally wounded. 

Q. When was the treaty of peace concluded t 

A. On the 24th of December, 1814. 



CHAPTER XIV. 
The National Bank, &c, 

Q When was the National Bank re-chartered? 

A In the year 1816, for twenty years, with 
a capital of $35,000,000. 

Q. Who succeeded Mr. Madison I 

A Mr. Monroe, of Virginia, in 1817. 

Q, How long had Mr. Madison been President? 

A. Eight years. 

Q. Where did Mr. Madison retire ? 

A He retired to his residence in .Virginia, 
where he died in 1836, at the age of 85 years. 

Q. When and by whom was Decatur killed in 
a duel ? 



72 HISTORY OF 

A. By Commodore Barron, in 1820. 

Q. When and by what nation was Florida 
ceded to the United States ? 

A. In the year 1820, by Spain. 

Q. What sum was paid for it ? 

A. Five millions of dollars. 

Q. When was a territorial government estab- 
lished over Florida? 

A. In the year 1822. 

Q. What is the difference between States and 
territories ? 

A. States elect their own governors, and send 
representatives to Congress, and territories do not. 

Q. What ratio is at present established for the 
representation in Congress ? 

A. At the rate of one representative for every 
93,000 inhabitants. 

Q. Therefore, how many inhabitants must a 
territory have before it can become a State ? 

A. It must have at least 93,000. 

Q. What was the population of the United 
States in the year 1820 ? 

A. About nine millions five hundred thousand. 

Q. When was the colony of Liberia, in Africa, 
established ? 

A. In the year 1820. 

Q. What is the object of this settlement? 

A. It is designed as a place for the coloniza- 
tion of free Africans and emancipated slaves of 
the United States. 

Q. What took place in the year 1824? 

A. The Marquis de Lafayette visited the Uni- 
ted States. 



THE UNITED STATES. 



73 



Q. How was he received ? 

A. He was received with every demonstration 
of joy by the people, and Congress voted him 
two hundred thousand dollars and 25,000 acres 
of land, as a testimonial of the gratitude of the 
United States. 

^>. Who succeeded Mr. Monroe as President 
of the United States ? 

A. John Quincy Adams, of Massachusetts, in 
1825. 

Q. For what is the 4th of July, 1826, memo- 
rable ? 

A. For the death of the two ex-Presidents, 
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. 

Q. What was their respective ages ? 

.1. Mr. Adams was 91, and Mr. Jefferson 83 
years of age. 

Q. By whom was Mr. Adams succeeded in the 
office of President ? 

A. By General Andrew Jackson, in the year 
1829. 

Q. In 1832 what bill passed both houses of 
Congress ? 

A. A bill for re-chartering the United States 
Bank. 

Q. Was the bill signed by the President ? 

A. No : Jackson returned it to the House with 
his objections, and declared that in his opinion 
the bank was inexpedient and unconstitutional, 
and therefore he would never sanction it by his 
approval. 

Q. What was the consequence ? 

A. The National Bank, which had existed for 



74 HISTORY OF 

forty-five years, was abolished at the expiration 
of its charter, in 1836. 

Q. By whom was General Jackson succeeded 
in the office of President ? 

A. By Martin Van Buren, of New York, in 
1837. 

Q. How long had Jackson been President 1 

A. Eight years. 

Q. When and where did General Jackson die ! 

A. On- the 8th of June, 1845, at his residence 
near Nashville, Tennessee, at the age of seventy- 
eight years. 

Q. By what was the administration of Mr 
Van Buren disturbed ? 

A. By the war with the Seminole Indians, in 
Florida, who had committed the most fearful 
depredations on the inhabitants. 

Q. What was the name of their most cele- 
brated chief? 

A. Osceola. 

Q. How was Osceola taken prisoner ? 

A. He came to the camp of the Americans 
under a flag of truce, and was detained by order 
of General Jessup ? 

Q. Why was the flag of truce not respected ? 

A. Because Osceola was treacherous, and 
could not be bound by any treaty. 

Q. When was the Seminole war terminated ? 

A. It was terminated in the year 1840. 

Q. What was the population of the United 
States in 1840 ? 

A. It amounted to 17,068,666 inhabitants. 



THE UNITED STATES. 75 

Q. By whom was Martin Van Buren suc- 
ceeded ? 

A. Bj General Harrison, in 1841. 

Q. Who, at the same time, was elected Vice- 
President ? 

A. John Tyler, of Virginia. 

Q. How long had Van Buren been President ? 

A. Only four years. 

Q. How long did General Harrison occupy 
the Presidential office ? 

A. Only one month. 

Q. When was he inaugurated? 

A. On the 4th of March, 1841. 

Q. When and where did he die ? 

A. On the 4th of the following April, in the 
presidential mansion at Washington. 

Q. On whom did the duties of President de- 
volve ? 

A. On the Vice-President, Mr. Tyler, who 
served out the remainder of the term. 

Q. In 1842, what important treaty was con- 
cluded between the United States and Great 
Britain ? 

A. A treaty determining the boundary of 
Maine. 

Q. By whom was it negotiated ? 

A. By Daniel Webster, Secretary of the 
United States, and Lord Ashburton, the British 
Minister. 

Q. In 1843, what disturbance occurred in the 
State of Rhode Island ? 

A. An attempt was made by the people to 



76 HISTORY OF 

abolish the ancient charter, and to establish a 
constitution like the other States. 

Q. Had Rhode Island no constitution previous 
to this time ? 

A. No ; she was governed by the charter of 
Charles II, granted in the year 1663. 

Q. What was the result? 

A The constitutional party was unsuccessful, 
and Thomas W. Dorr, whom they had elected 
governor, was tried, and condemned to imprison- 
ment for life. 

Q. Was this sentence carried into execution ? 

A. It was ; but Dorr was pardoned after lan- 
guishing in prison for several months. 

Q. By whom was Mr. Tyler succeeded in the 
office of President? 

A. By James K. Polk, of Tennessee, in 1845. 

Q. Who was elected Vice-President? 

A. George M. Dallas, of Pennsylvania. 



THE INIiEi) STATES. 



77 




Battle of Buena Vista. 



CHAPTEK XV. 



WAR WITH MEXICO. 



€auses of the War — The Battle of Palo Alto — 
Battle of Resaca de la. Palma — Battle of Mon- 
terey — Battle of Buena Vista. 

Q. What was one of the principal causes of 
the war with Mexico ? 

A. The admission of the republic of Texas 
}.nto the Union. 

Q. What was Texas formerly ? 

A. Texas was a Mexican province. 

Q. When did it become independent of Mexico? 

A. In the year 1836. 



78 HISTORY OP 

Q. What was the chief battle during the wax 
of Texas with Mexico ? 

.4. The battle of San Jacinto, in which Santa 
Anna, the President of Mexico, was taken pri- 
soner. 

Q. When was Texas admitted into the United 
States ? 

A. In the year 1845. 

Q. How did this act displease Mexico ? 

A. In the first place, Mexico had never ac- 
knowledged the independence of Texas ; and 
secondly, Texas claimed a greater extent of ter- 
ritory than Mexico was willing to admit. 

Q. What was the original boundary between 
the two countries ? 

A. Mexico held the river Nueces to be the 
original boundary, but Texas maintained that 
the Rio Grande, from its source to its mouth, 
was the correct boundary between the two coun- 
tries, and consequently claimed the territory 
between the two rivers. 

Q. With what boundary did the United States 
receive Texas into the Union? 

A. With the Rio Grande as the Western 
boundary. 

Q.' What followed as a, consequence on the 
admission of Texas ? 

A. It followed that the United States was 
compelled to settle with Mexico, the difficulty 
concerning the disputed territory. 

Q. What orders did General Taylor receive ? 

A. He was directed by the President to take 
up some position w<\st of the river Nueces, and 



THE UNITED STATES. 79 

to hold himself in readiness to repel any attempt 
at invasion by Mexico. 

Q. When and where was General Taylor born? 

4- General Zachary Taylor was born in the 
year 1790, in Orange county, Virginia. 

Q. When did he enter the army ? 

A. He entered the army in the year 1808, 
as lieutenant; and during the late war he was 
promoted to the rank of Major, for his brilliant 
defence of Fort Harrison. 

Q. Where did he afterwards distinguish him- 
self? 

A. In the Indian war, in Florida. 

Q. When was he promoted to the rank of 
fcreneral ? 

A. In the year 1840, and was appointed to the 
command of the army in the South. 

Q. When did he receive the rank of Major 
General ? 

A. Shortly after the commencement of the 
Mexican war. 

Q. Where did General Taylor take up his po- 
sition V 

A. He crossed the Colorado river, and took 
up a position at Point Isabel, where he erected 
a fort, called Fort Polk. 

Q What did he do on the 28th of March? 

A. He advanced towards the Rio Grande, 
took up a position opposite Matamoras. and 
erected Fort Brown. 

Q. In the mean time, who was sent to Mexico, 
Ss commissioner on the part of the United States? 

A. Mr. Slidell 



80 HISTORY *OF 

Q. What was the result ? 

A. The Mexican government would not re- 
ceive him, and he was compelled to return. 

Q. On the 24th of April, what took place ? 

A. General Arista, the commander of the 
Mexican forces, informed General Taylor that he 
considered hostilities already commenced. 

Q. On the 29th of April, of what was General 
Taylor informed ? 

A. He was informed that Point Isabel was in 
danger of being taken by the enemy ; and he 
immediately set out to its relief. 

Q. During his absence, what happened? 

A. Fort Brown was furiously attacked by the 
Mexicans. 

Q. On receiving intelligence of this, what did 
General Taylor do ? 

A. He immediately commenced his march 
back to Fort Brown. 

Q. At Palo Alto, what took place? 

A. He was met by the Mexicans drawn up in 
order of battle, and prepared to dispute his pro- 
gress 1 

Q. What followed ? • 

A. A severe and obstinate battle followed, in 
which the Mexicans were defeated. 

Q. When did this battle take place ? . 

A. On the 8th of May, 1846. 

Q. What was the loss on both sides ? 

A. The Mexicans lost over 300 killed and 
wounded ; the American loss was 9 killed, and 
42 wounded. 



THE UNITED STATES. 



81 



Q. Among the Americans, what distinguished 
man was killed ? 

A. Major Ringgold, the commander of the 
flying artillery. 
" Q. When and where was the next battle 
fought ? 

A. On the next day, at a place called Resaca 
de la Palma. 

Q. What was the issue of this battle '! 
A.. The Mexicans were again defeated, and 
fled with precipitation across the river to Mata- 
moras. 

Q. By what was this battle distinguished ? 
A. It was distinguished by the desperate 
charge of Captain May, who, at the head of his 
dragoons, rode up to the very mouth of the ene- 
my's cannon, silenced the batteries, and took 
General Vega prisoner. 

Q. What did the Mexicans lose ? 
A. They lost the whole of their artillery, 2,000 
stand of arms, 600 mules, with the private pa- 
pers of General Arista. 

Q. What was the loss on both sides ? 
A. The Mexicans lost 800 in killed and 
wounded, while the Americans lost 39 killed 
and 82 wounded. 

Q. When did General Taylor take possession 
of the city of Matamoras ? 
A. On the 18th of May. 
Q. Where did General Taylor next direct his 
march ? x 

A. To Monterey, the capital of New Leon, a 
city situated about 170 miles fro™ Matamoras, 
6 



82 



HISTORY OP 



Q. What took place at this city ? 

A. A severe battle took place, which continued 
with but little intermission for three days. 

Q. What was the issue of the battle ? 

A. The Mexicans were defeated, and the city 
surrendered to General Taylor. 

Q. What was the number of the Mexican 
army I 

A. It numbered about 10,000 men, wfcile the 
forces under General Taylor amounted to only 
6.000. J 

Q. What was the loss on both sides ? 
}• The Americans lost about 267 killed, and 
456 wounded ; the Mexicans lost nearly 2,000 
killed and wounded. 

Q. When did this battle take place ? 
A. It commenced on the 21st and ended on 
the 23d of September, 1846 

Q. Where was the next battle fought ? 
A. At a place called Buena Vista. 
Q. Who commanded the Mexicans in this 
battle ? 

A. General Santa Anna. 
Q. What was the number of the forces on 
each side ? 

A. The Mexicans amounted to about 20,000 
men, while the forces under General Taylor 
amounted only to 5,000. 

Q. What was the issue of the battle ? 
A. The Mexicans were defeated with a loss 
of nearly 2,000 in killed and wounded. 
O. What was General Taylor's loss? 
A. lie lost 267 killed, and 456 wounded. 



THE UNITED STATES. 83 

Q. Can you mention the names of some of 
our officers who fell ? 

A. Yes ; among them were Colonels McKee, 
Harden, Fell, Davis, and Clay. 

Q. When did this battle take place ? 

A. It took place on the morning of the 23d 
of February, 1847. 

Q. Can you relate any incident of this battle ? 

A. While the battle raged in all its fury, Mr. 
Crittenden was sent with some message to the 
Mexican camp ; while there, General Santa Anna 
told him if General Taylor would surrender, he 
would be protected. Crittenden coolly replied, 
" General Taylor never surrenders" 

Q. While these things were going on, what 
other achievements were accomplished ? 

A. General Kearney, after a march of nearly 
one thousand miles through the wilderness, en- 
tered the city of Santa Fe, and took formal pos- 
session of New Mexico, without opposition. 



84 



HISTORY 0? 




Battle of Cerro Gordo. 



CHATTER XVI 



WAR WITH MEXICO CONTINUED. 

General Scott — Surrender of Vera Cruz — Battle 
of Cerro Gordo — Battle of Contreras — Battle 
of Churubusco — Surrender of the City of 
Mexico. 

Q. In the mean time what took place ? 

A. In the mean time General Scott was or- 
dered to take command of the forces of the Uni- 
ted States in Mexico. 

Q. When and where was General Scott born ? 

A. General Winfield Scott was born in th 3 
year 1786, near Petersburg, in Virginia. 



THE UNITED STATES. 85 

Q. When did he receive a commission in the 
army ? 

A. In the year 1808, he received a captain's 
commission, and by his bravery and talents he 
has risen to his present distinguished post of 
'. '•ommander-in-chief of the United States forces. 

Q. What was the first operation of General 
Scott after lie arrived in Mexico ? 

A. His first operations were directed against 
the city of Vera Cruz. 

Q. When and by whom was the city of Vera 
Cruz founded ? 

A. It was founded in the year 1519 by Her- 
nando Cortez, the early conqueror of Mexico. 

(J. By what celebrated fortress was the city 
defended ? 

A. By the castle of San Juan de Ulloa, situ- 
ated on a small island opposite the city. 

Q. How did General Scott effect the reduc- 
tion of the city ? 

A. He landed his troops below the city and 
placed his batteries in such a position that the 
place was soon compelled to surrender. 

Q. Before commencing operations, what did 
he do ? 

A. He sent a summons to the Mexican com- 
mander to surrender the city, at the same time 
permitting all the inhabitants who desired it to 
retire with their property. 

Q. When did the city surrender V 

A. On the 27th of March, 1847. 

Q. After the capture of Vera Cruz, where did 
General Scott direct his march ? 



SO III5T0UY ov 

A. Towards the middle of April, he left Vera 
Cruz, and directed his march towards the city 
of Mexico. 

Q. Where did the Mexicans assemble to op- 
pose his march ? 

A. At a place called Cerro Gordo. 

Q. What followed ? 

A. A desperate battle followed, in which the 
Mexicans were again defeated. 

Q. What was the loss on each side? 

A. The Mexicans lost 1,200 in killed and 
wounded ; the loss on the part of our army, 
amounted to G3 killed, and 368 wounded. 

Q. How many Mexicans were taken prisoners? 

A. About 3,000, and among them were 288 
officers, and 5 generals. 

Q. What is related of Santa Anna? 

A. He escaped from the field of battle, leaving 
his carriage, and even his wooden leg, in the 
hands of the enemy. 

Q. When did this battle take place ? 

A. On the 17th and 18th of April, 1847. 

Q. After this battle what did General Scott do? 

A. Without delay, he marched forward, and 
took possession of the cities of Jalapa, Perote, 
and finally that of Puebla. 

Q. Where is the cities of Jalapa and Perote V 

A. Jalapa is situated on the road to the city 
of Mexico, about fifty miles from Vera Cruz : 
and Perote is situated about sixty miles from 
the coast, and was defended by a strong fortress. 

Q. What did the Americans obtain by the 
surrender of this city? 



THE UNITED 3TATE3. 87 

A. The fortress was abandoned at the ap- 
proach of the Americans, leaving behind 64 
pieces of cannon, 11,065 cannon balls, 14,300 
bombs, and 500 muskets. 

Q. Where is Puebla situated? 

A. Puebla is situated about sixty miles from 
the city of Mexico, and one hundred and eighty- 
six from Vera Cruz. It is a very handsome city, 
and contains about 80,000 inhabitants. 

Q. Where did the next battle take place ? 

A. At a place called Contreras. 

Q. Where is Contreras ? 

A. It is a lofty eminence, not far from the 
city of Mexico. 

Q. What was the issue of the battle ? 

A. The Mexicans were defeated with a loss 
of 700 killed, and 813 taken prisoners. 

Q. When did this battle take place ? 

A. On the 20th of August, 1847. 

Q. What place was next attacked ? 

A. The fortifications of Churubusco. 

Q. How was the place defended ? 

A. It was defended by General Santa Anna, 
at the head of 25,000 men, strongly intrenched. 

Q. Describe the battle ? 

A. The battle, which continued three hours, 
was furious in the extreme ; at length the scale 
of victory turned in favor of the Americans. 
The Mexicans fled, leaving their fortifications in 
the hands of the enemy. 

Q. What was the loss on each side ? 

A. The Mexicans lost 600 in killed and 
wounded, and 1,100 prisoners; but the Ameri- 



88 HISTORY OF 

can loss amounted to over 1,000 in killed and 
wounded. 

Q. When did this battle take place ? 

A. On the 20th of August, the same day 
with the battle of Contreras. 

Q. After the battle, what did G en. Scott do ? 

A, He proposed an armistice, that the Mexi- 
can government might treat with our commis- 
sioner, Mr. Trist. 

Q. Was the armistice accepted ? 

A. It was ; but General Scott, finding that 
the Mexicans were secretly fortifying the city, 
declared the armistice at an end, after it had 
continued about 12 days. 

Q. What followed ? 

.4. Hostilities were immediately renewed, 
with redoubled energy on both sides. 

Q. What was the first place of attack after 
the renewal of hostilities ? 

A. A strong fortress called Molino del Key, 
or the King's Mill. 

Q. How was it defended ? 

A. It was defended by ten pieces of artillery, 
and 10,000 men. 

Q. What was the number of our forces ? 

A. About 4,000 men. 

Q. What was the issue of the battle? 

A. After a dreadful conflict of three hours, 
the Mexicans fled, leaving the fortress in the 
hands of the Americans. 

Q. What place was next attacked ? 

.4. The fortress of Chapultepec, which was 
considered as the key to the city of Mexico. 



THE UNITED STATES. CV 

Q. What was the result? 

A. After a bloody contest of several hours, the 
fortress was surrendered to the valor of our arms. 

Q. What followed the taking of this fortress ? 

A. It was followed by the reduction of the 
city of Mexico. 

Q. When did this event take place '( 

A. On the morning of the 15th of September, 
1847. our troops entered the city, and at 7 
o'clock, our banner, for the first time, waved in 
triumph over the Mexican capital. 

Q. Where is the city of Mexico situated"? 

.1. The city of Mexico is situated in a beauti- 
ful valley, about 25:2 miles from Vera Cruz. It 
stands upon nearly the same ground as that of 
the ancient city which was conquered by Cortez. 

Q. What is its present population V 

.1. It contains about 200,000 inhabitants. 

Q. When our troops entered the city what 
became of General Santa Anna? 

J.. The night previous to its surrender, he 
escaped, and retired to Guadaloupe. 

Q. W r hen and where was a treaty of peace 
concluded ? 

A. On the 2d of February, 1848> a treaty of 
peace was signed by the commissioners of both 
nations, at the city of Guadaloupe Hidalgo. 

Q. When and where was it ratified ? 

A. It was ratified by both governments on the 
30th of May, 1848, at Queretaro. 

Q. By this treaty what is the present boun- 
dary between the two republics ? 

A. The boivndarv line commences in the Gulf 



90 HISTORY 0* 

of Mexico, three leagues from land, and proceeds 
thence up the middle of the Rio Grande to the 
southern boundary of Mexico ; thence to its wes- 
tern termination ; thence along its western line 
until it intersects the river Gila ; thence down 
that river until it empties into the Rio Colorado ; 
then across the Colorado, following the line of 
division between Upper and Lower California, 
to the Pacific ocean. 

Q. What territory did the United States ac- 
quire by this treaty ? 

A. The whole of New Mexico and Upper 
California. 

Q. By whom was James K. Polk succeeded 
in the office of President ? 

A. By General Zachary Taylor. 

Q. How long was General Taylor President ? 

A. He succeeded Mr. Polk on the fourth of 
March, in 1849, and died on the 9th of July, 
1850, having been President one year, four 
months, and four days. 

Q. Who then succeeded in the Presidency? 

A. Millard Fillmore, of New York. 

Q. When was California admitted into the 
Union ? 

A. In 1850, making the number of the States 
thirty-one. 

Q. Who succeeded Mr. Fillmore in the office 
of President ? 

A. Franklin Pierce, of New Hampshire. 

Q. W T ho was elected Vice-President ? 

A. William R. King, of Alabama, who died 
shortly after his election. 



iJENERAL QUESTIONS 



Constitution of % Initeb states. 



Q. What is the Constitution of the United 
States ? 

A. It is a written instrument containing the 
general laws that govern the States in the rela- 
tion they bear to each other. 

Q. According to the constitution, of what 
branches does the Congress of the United States 
consist ? 

A. In a Senate and House of Representatives. 

Q. Of what persons is the Senate composed ? 

A. It is composed of two Senators from each 
State. 

Q. In what manner and for what period are 
they chosen ? 

A. They are generally chosen by the Legis- 
lature of their respective States, and serve for a 
term of six years. 

Q. How are they divided ? 

A. They are divided into three classes. 

Q. How are their seats vacated ? 

A. The seats of the first class are vacated at 
the expiration of two years ; the seats of the 
second class at the expiration of four years ; and 
91 



92 QUESTIONS ON 

those of the third class at the expiration of six 
years, so that one-third are chosen every second 
year. 

Q. When vacancies occur in the Senate during 
the recess of the Legislature of any State, how 
are they filled ? 

A. They are filled l>y the Governor of the 
State where the vacancy occurs. 

Q. How old must a man be before he can 
serve as Senator V 

A. He must have attained the age of thirty- 
five years. 

Q. Who is the President of the Senate ? 

.4. The Vice-President of the United States. 

Q. Of what persons is the House of Repre- 
sentatives composed ? 

A. It is composed of members chosen by the 
people of the several States, every second year. 

Q. What are the qualifications necessary for 
a representative? 

A. He must be twenty-five years of age, and 
a citizen of the United States, also an inhabitant 
of the State in which he is chosen. 

Q. What number of inhabitants sends one 
representative to Congress ? 

A. The number of inhabitants assigned to one 
member of Congress is at present about 93,000. 

Q. How is the Speaker of the House of Rep- 
resentatives chosen ? 

A. By the majority of the votes of the mem- 
berg of the House. 

Q. What compensation do the members of the 
Senate and House of Representatives receive? 



THE CONSTITUTION. 93 

A. They receive each eight dollars a day 
while Congress is in session. 

Q. When and where does Congress meet ? 

A. Tn the city of Washington, on the first 
Monday of December, each year. 

Q. What privileges have the Senators and 
Representatives ? 

A. They are privileged from arrest in all 
cases, except treason, felony, and breach of the 
peace, during their attendance at the session of 
their respective houses, and in going to and re- 
turning from the same. 

Q. Can you mention the chief powers of Con- 
gress ? 

A. Congress has power to lay and collect 
taxes, duties, and imports ; to pay debts, and 
provide for the defence and welfare of the Union. 
To borrow money ; to regulate commerce ; to 
coin money and regulate the value thereof; to 
establish uniform naturalization laws ; to estab- 
lish post offices and post roads ; to declare war ; 
to raise and support armies; to provide and 
maintain a navy ; and make all laws which shall 
be necessary for carrying into execution all the 
powers vested by the constitution in the govern- 
ment of the United States. 

Q. Can Congress make any law respecting 
religion ? 

A. No ; Congress can make no law respecting 
religion, or to prohibit the free exercise thereof. 
Q. In what else is Congress restricted ? 

A. Congress cannot pass any laws abridging 
the freedom of speech , or of the press, or to pre- 



94 QUESTIONS ON 

vent the people from assembling peaceably, or 
to petition the government for a redress of grie- 
vances. 

Q. In whom is the executive power vested ? 

A. In the President of the United States. 

Q. What are the necessary qualifications of a 
candidate for the office of President? 

A. He must be a natural-born citizen, over 
thirty-five years of age, and fourteen years a 
resident within the United States. 

Q. How is the President chosen ? 

A. The people of the different.. States elect 
persons called electors, who vote for the Presi- 
dent and Vice-President. 

Q. Where, and in what manner do the electors 
vote? 

A: They vote in their respective States, then 
seal and transmit the result to the seat of gov- 
ernment, directed to the President of the Senate 
of the United States ; and the person having 
the highest number of votes for President, is 
declared President : and the person having the 
highest number of votes for Vice-President, is 
declared Vice-President. 

Q. How often does an election take place for 
President and Vice-President? 

A. Every four years, but they may be re-elected. 

Q. In case of the removal of the President 
fr >m office, by death or any other cause, on 
whom shall the duties of the President devolve ? 

A. On the Vice-President, who becomes Presi- 
dent, and shall serve out the term the President 
had to serve. 



THE CONSTITUTION. 95 

Q. In case of the death, or removal from office 
of both President and Vice-President, on whom 
would the duties of the office devolve ? 

A. The Congress would be obliged to declare 
what officer should act as President, until a 
President could be elected. 

Q. What salary does the President receive 
anuually ? 

A. Twenty-five thousand dollars. 

Q. What does the Vice-President receive ? 

A. Sixteen dollars per day. 

Q. Before entering on the duties of his office, 
what oath does the President take ? 

A. The following : "I do solemnly swear, 
(or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office 
of the President of the United States, and will, 
to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and 
defend the Constitution of the United States." 

Q. What are the chief powers invested in the 
President ? 

A. The President is commander-in-chief of 
the army and navy of the United States ; he has 
power to grant reprieves and pardons for offences 
against the United States. He has power, with 
consent of the Senate, to make treaties, to ap- 
point ambassadors, consuls and other public 
ministers, judges of the Supreme Court, &c, and 
to fill all vacancies that may happen during the 
recess of the Senate : lie may, on extraordinary 
occasions, convene both houses of Congress, and 
in case of a disagreement between them as to 
the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them 
to such tone as he may think proper 



D6 UESTI0NS ON THE CONSTITUTION. 

Q. For what offences may the President and 
Vice-President be removed from office ? 

A. For treason, bribery, or other high crimes 
and misdemeanors. 

Q. In what is the judicial po.wer of the United 
States vested ? 

A. In one Supreme Court, and such inferior 
Courts as Congress may think proper to establish. 

Q. How long do the judges of the United 
States' Courts hold their offices ? 

A. For life, or during good behaviour. 

Q. What is the extent of their powers ? 

A. Their power extends to all cases in law 
and equity arising under the Constitution, the 
laws of the States, and treaties made under their 
authority. 

Q. What does the Constitution say concern- 
ing new States ? 

A. It provides that new States may be admit- 
ted into the Union by the consent of Congress. 

Q. What does the Constitution guarantee to 
each of the States ? 

A. It guarantees to each a republican form 
of government, and to protect each against 
foreign invasion and domestic violence. 

Q. How may the Constitution be amended ? 

A. It may be altered or amended by the votes 
of two-thirds of both houses, at any session of 
Congress : or, on the application of the legisla- 
tures of two-thirds of the several States, Congress 
would be obliged to call a convention to alter or 
amend the Constitution. 



GENERAL QUESTIONS 

On the Constitutions and Government of the 
principal States of the Union. 



MAINE. 

Q. How is the legislative power of this State 
divided ? 

A. It is divided into two branches ; a senate 
and house of representatives. 

Q. How are the senators and representatives 
chosen ? 

A. They are elected by the qualified voters of 
the districts into which the State may be, from 
time to time, divided. 

Q. What are their qualifications ? 

A. They must be citizens of the Stato one 
year, and 25 years of age. 

Q. In whom is the executive authority placed ? 

A. In a governor, who is elected by the peo~ 
pie, and holds his office for one year. 

Q. What are his qualifications? 

A. He must be a citizen of the State for one 
year, and 30 years of age. 

Q. What is said of the judiciary f 

A. The judiciary is vested in a supreme court, 
and such other courts as the legislature may es- 
tablish? J 

Q. How. are the judges created ? 

A. They are appointed by the governor, and 
hold their office during good behaviour, but not 
beyond the age of 75 years. 

1 97 



98 GENERAL QUESTIONS ON THE 

Q. What is said of the right of suffrage ? 

A. The right of suffrage is granted to every 
male citizen of 21 years of age and upwards, 
who has resided in the State for three years 
previous to the election. 

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 

Q. What is said of the legislature? 

A. The legislature is divided into two branches, 
styled the General Court of New Hampshire. 

Q. What must be the qualifications of repre- 
sentatives ? 

A. They must have been inhabitants two years, 
and have an estate of $333 33J ; one-half of 
which must be freehold. 

Q. What are the qualifications of senators? 

A. Persons eligible to the senate, must have 
a freehold of $666 66% ; be 30 years of age, and 
have resided in the State for seven years. 

Q. What are the qualifications of governor? 

A. He must have an estate of $1,666 66§ • 
one-half of which must be freehold ; and a resi- 
dence in the State of seven years. A council of 
five is elected by the people to advise and assist 
the governor. 

Q. What is said of the judiciary f. 

A. The judiciary is the same as jn Maine, ex- 
cept the age of the judges is limited to 70 years. 

Q. What is said of the right of suffrage ? 

A. This right is granted to all male . citizens 
of 21 years of age and upwards, paupers and 
persons excused from paying taxes, excepted. 



CONSTITUTIONS OF THE STATES. 99 

VERMONT. 

Q. What is said of the legislature f 

A. The legislature consists of two branches, 
styled the General Assembly of Vermont. 

Q. What are the qualifications of senators and 
representatives ? 

A. Two years' residence in the State, and one 
year in the township which they represent. No 
property qualification is required. 

Q. In whom is the executive authority placed? 

A. In the governor, and a -council of twelve 
elected by the people. 

Q. What is said of the judiciary f 

A. The judiciary consists of a Supreme Court 
of five judges, and a County Court of three 
judges for each county. 

Q. How do they receive their appointment ? 

A They are elected by the legislature. 

Q. What may be said of the right of suffrage? 

A. The right of suffrage is extended to all 
male citizens of the age of 21 years and upwards, 
who have resided one year in the State. 

MASSACHUSETTS. 

Q. What is the legislature of this State styled? 

.4. The General Court of Massachusetts. 

<Q. What are the qualifications of represen- 
tatives and senators ? 

A. Kepresentatives must have resided one 
year in the town in which they are chosen, and 
possess a freehold of $333 33J, or taxable pro- 



100 GENERAL QUESTIONS ON THE 

perty to the amount of $666 66|. Senators must 
have resided five years in the district in which 
they are chosen, and possess a freehold of 
$1,000, or taxable property of $2,000. 

Q. In whom is the executive authority placed ? 

A. In a governor, a lieutenant governor, and 
a council of nine. The governor and lieutenant 
governor must have resided seven years in the 
State, and must possess a freehold of $333 33J. 

Q. What is said of the judiciary ? 

A. The judiciary of this State consists of a 
Supreme Court and Courts of Common Pleas. 
The judges are appointed by the governor, with 
the advice and consent of his council, and hold 
their office for life, or during good behaviour. 

Q. What is said of the right of suffrage ? 

A. This right extends to all the male citizens 
of 21 years of age and upwards, who have re- 
sided in the State one year, and six months in 
the district in which they claim a right to vote, 
and who have paid a tax to the State within two 
years, unless exempted from taxation. 

CONNECTICUT. 

Q. How is the legislature of this State divided? 

A. Into two branches, styled the General As- 
sembly of Connecticut. 

Q. Who is invested with the executive power ? 

A. The governor, who must be 30 years of 
age to render him eligible. 

Q. What may bo said of the judiciary of this 
State? 



7Eg. 101 

A The judiciary con-i-:s of a sup r em e court 

of errors, a superior court, and such other courts 

a- tike legislature may from lime to time establish. 

observed of the right of 

suffrage ! 

-4. This right extends to all white mal 

_ 1 years of age and upwards, who have 
resided in ti 9taJ months, and have a free- 

hold of $7 yearly value, or who have paid a tax 
or performed military duty for one year. 

RHODE ISLAND. 

Q. What is said of the legislature of this State? 

A. The two branches are styled the Gemcnd 
■ -My : and when acting jointly, they are 
stvled the Grand Com mit 

Q. In whom is the executive power placed '.' 

A. In a governor and lieutenant governor, 
who are annually elected by the people : the 
former of whom, is president of the senate. 

Q. What is said of the judiciary f 

A. The judiciary consists of one supreme 
court, and such other interior court.- as the legis- 
ture may ordain. The judges are elected by the 
Grand Committee, and hold their office during 
good behaviour. 

Q. What is said of the right of suffrage ? 

-4. The right of suffrage extends to every male 
citizen of the United States, of twenty-one years 
of age and upwards, who has resided two years 
in the State and six months in the place where 
h» intends to ?i 



102 GENERAL QUESTIONS ON THE 

Q. What qualifications are required of voters ? 

A. A citizen, to be entitled to a vote, must 
have registered his name at the office of the town 
or city clerk at least seven days before the elec- 
tion ; must have paid within a year a tax of one 
dollar, or have done military duty at least one 
day within the year preceding the election. 

Q. What is required of naturalized citizens ? 

A. In addition to the foregoing qualifications, 
naturalized citizens are required to possess real 
estate in the city or town worth $134 overall 
incumbrances ; or other property which rents for 
$7 per annum. 

NEW YORK. 

Q. What~ is said of the legislature of this 
State? 

A. In the house of representatives, called the 
Assembly, the members are chosen by counties, 
and are apportioned according to the population. 
The senators are chosen by districts. 

Q. What are the qualifications of governor 
and lieutenant governor? 

A. They are required to be native born citi- 
zens and freeholders, of thirty years of age, and 
have resided in the State five years. 

Q. How is the judiciary regulated ? 

A. The judiciary consists of a supreme court, 
and circuit and county courts. The judges of 
all the courts are appointed by the governor, and 
hold their office during good behaviour, but not 
after they are sixty years of age, except the 



CONSTITUTIONS OF THB STATES. 103 

judges of the county courts, who are only ap- 
pointed for five years. 

Q. What may be observed of the right of suf- 
frage ? 

A. This right extends to all white male citi- 
zens, who have resided in the State one year, 
and six months in the county in which they in- 
tend to vote, provided they have paid a county 
or State tax within one year, or performed mili- 
tary duty. Colored men have a right to vote if 
they have resided in the State three years, and 
possess a freehold to the value of $250. 

NEW JERSEY. 

Q. What may be observed of the legislature 
of this State? 

A. It is vested in a council and general as- 
sembly. 

Q. What are the qualifications of the members? 

A. The council consists of one member from 
each county, who must be worth $3,333 33J ; 
the members of the assembly are elected from 
the counties, and must be worth $1,666 66|. 

Q. Who is the executive officer ? 

A. The governor, who is president of the 
council, and chancellor of the State. 

Q. How are the judges ehosen ? 

A. By the legislature ; those of the supreme 
court for seven years, but the other judges for a 
shorter period. 

Q. What is said of the right of suffrage ? 

A. This right extends to all citizens who have 



104 GENERAL QUESTIONS ON THE 

resided in the State one year, and five months 
in the township in which they claim to vote. 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

Q. What is said of the legislature ? 

A. The legislature consists of two houses, 
styled the General Assembly. . 

Q. What are the qualifications of the members? 

A. Senators must be twenty-five years of age, 
and have been citizens and inhabitants of the 
State four years ; representatives require the 
same qualifications. 

Q. In whom is the executive power placed ? 

A. In a Governor, who must be thirty years 
of age ; he holds his office for three years. 

Q. What may be said of the judiciary of this 
State? 

A. The judiciary consists of one supreme 
court and several inferior courts. The judges 
and chief officers of the courts are elected by the 
people. 

Q. To whom does the right of suffrage ex- 
tend ? 

A. This right extends to all white male citi- 
zens who have resided two years in the State, 
and who pay taxes. 

DELAWARE. 

Q. What may be said of the government of 
this State ? 

A. The government of this State is nearly the 
same as that of Pennsylvania, except that the 



CONSTITUTIONS 0*' THE STATES. 105 

judges and State officers generally are appointed 
by the governor 

MARYLAND. 

Q. What is the legislature of this State styled? 

.4. The two branches of the legislature are 
styled the General Assemhly of Maryland. 

Q. What are the qualifications requisite for 
senators and representatives ? 

A. They must be citizens of the United States, 
and have resided three years in the State, and 
one year in 4he county or city which they repre- 
sent ; a senator must be twenty-five, and a re- 
presentative twenty-one years of age. 

'). In whom is the executive authority vested? 

A. In a governor, who is elected for a term 
of four years. 

Q. What are the qualifications of governor? 

. 1 . He must be thirty years of age, and a citi- 
zen of the United States for five years, five suc- 
cessive years a resident of the State, and three 
years a resident of the district from which he is 
selected. 

Q. What may be observed of the judiciary of 
Maryland ? 

A. The judiciary consists of a court of appeals, 
circuit courts, and courts for the city of Balti- 
more. The judges and all the principal officers 
of the courts are elected by the people. 

Q. For what period are the judges elected ? 

A. For ten years, except the judges of the 
orphans' court, who are to serve four years. 



106 GENERAL QUESTIONS ON THE 

Q. What is said of the right of suffrage t 
A. This right extends to all the white male 
■citizens, who have resided in the State one year, 
and six months in the county or city Where they 
intend to vote. 

VIRGINIA. 

Q. Of what does the legislature consist? 

A. It consists of a senate and house of repre- 
sentatives, styled the General Assembly of Vir- 
ginia. 

Q. Who exercises the executive authority ? 

A. The executive authority is vested in a gov- 
ernor and a council of three, the elder of whom 
is lieutenant governor. 

Q. What do you observe of the judiciary f 

A. The judges and the attorney general are 
chosen by the joint vote of both houses, and hold 
their office during good behaviour. 

Q. What is said of the right of suffrage f 

A. This right extends to all white male citi- 
zens of legal age, who hold a freehold of $25, or 
who are house-keepers, or heads of families, and 
pay taxes. The voting is by viva voce, and not 
by ballot. 

NORTH A R O L I N A . 

Q. Of what is the legislature of this State 
composed ? 

A. It is composed of a senate and house of 
commons, styled together the General Assembly. 

Q. Row are the members chosen ? 



CONSTITUTIONS 0¥ THE STATES. 107 

A. Each county elects one senator and two 
representatives, who must be freeholders, and 
have a residence of one year. 

Q. In whom is the executive power vested \ 

A. In a council of seven, and in a governor, 
who must be a freeholder, thirty years of age, 
and resident of five years. 

Q. What is said of the judges? 

A. The judges are elected by the legislature, 
and hold their office during good behaviour. 

Q. What may be said of the right of suffrage? 

A. This right extends to all white male citi- 
zens. Those who pay taxes, are entitled to vote 
for members of the house of commons ; but it 
requires a man to possess a freehold of 50 acres 
of land to entitle him to vote for senators. 

SOUTH CAROLINA. 

Q. What is the nature of the constitution of 
this State ? 

A. The constitution of this State is vejry simi- 
lar to that of North Carolina. The governor 
alone, is the executive officer ; a lieutenant gov- 
ernor is also elected, but he has no power unless 
the office of Governor becomes vacant. 

GEORGIA. 

Q. What may be said of the legislature of 
this- State? 

A. The members of the senate and house are 
elected from the counties,, according to the white 
population, and adding thereto, two-fifths of the 
people of color. 



108 GENERAL QUESTIONS ON THE 

Q. What are the qualifications of representa- 
tives and senators ? 

A. Representatives must be 21 years of age, 
7 years a citizen of the United States, 3 of the 
State of Georgia, and possess a freehold of $200, 
or taxable property worth $500 ; Senators must 
be 25 years of age, 9 years citizens of the United 
States, and possess a freehold of $500, or $2,000 
worth of taxable property. 

Q. What are the qualifications of the governor? 

A. He must be 30 years of age, and a free- 
holder of 600 acres of land, or other property to 
the amount of $4,000. 

Q. How are the judges chosen ? 

A. They are elected by the legislature for a 
term of three years. 

Q. What is said of the right of suffrage ? 

A. This right extends to all white male citi- 
zens of 21 years and upwards, who pay taxes. 

KENTUCKY. 

Q. How is the legislature divided ? 

A. Into two houses, styled the General As- 
sembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. 

Q. Who are the executive officers ? 

A. The governor and lieutenant governor, the 
latter of whom is president of the senate. 

Q. What is said of the judiciary? 

A. The judiciary is the same as in Massachu- 
setts. 

Q. To whom does the right of suffrage extend? 

A. This right extends to all white male citi- 
zens of legal age. 



CONSTITUTIONS OP THE STATES. 109 

Q, What State has a constitution similar to 
Kentucky ? 

A. Tennessee; only the judges are elected 
by the legislature. 

OHIO. 

Q. In what is the legislative authority of this 
State vested ? 

A. In a General Assembly, which consists of 
a senate and house of representatives. 

Q. What are the necessary qualifications of a 
senator or representative ? 

A. A senator must be 35 years of age, two 
years within the county from which he is elected, 
and have paid a state or county tax. A repre- 
sentative must be 25 years of age, a resident of 
the county from which he is chosen, and have 
paid a state or county tax. 

Q. In whom is the executive power vested ? 

A. In a governor, who must be 30 years of age, 

Q. What is said of the judiciary ? 

A. The judiciary of this State is vested in a 
supreme court and courts of common pleas, the 
judges of which are elected by the legislature. 

Q. What is said of the right of suffrage ? 

A. This right extends to all white male citi- 
zens of legal age, who have paid a State or 
county tax. 

INDIANA. 

Q. What is said of the legislature ? 
A. It is styled the General Assembly, the 
members of which are elected from the counties 



1 10 GENERAL QUESTIONS ON THE 

according to the number of white male inhabi- 
tants of twenty-one years of age. 

Q. What are the qualifications of the governor? 

A . He must be thirty years of age, and four 
years a resident of the State. 

Q. What is said of the judiciary ? 

A. The judiciary consists of a supreme court 
of three judges, and circuit courts of two judges; 
all the judges hold their office for seven years. 

Q. How are they appointed ? 

A. The judges of the supreme court are ap- 
pointed by the governor and senate ; those of 
the circuit courts are elected by the people. 

Q. What is said of the right of suffrage ? 

A. It is the same as in Ohio. 

Q. What State has a constitution nearly the 
same as Indiana ? 

A. Louisiana. 

MISSISSIPPI. 

Q. Of what does the legislature consist ? 

A. It consists of a senate and house of repre- 
sentatives, styled the General Assembly. 

Q. What are the qualifications of the members? 

A. The senators must be twenty-six years of 
age, have resided in the State four years, and 
possess a freehold or other taxable property worth 
$1,000. The representatives must be twenty- 
two years of age, have resided two years in the 
State, and possess a freehold of $500. 

Q. What are the qualifications of governor ? 

A He must be thirty years of age, a eitizen 



CONSTITUTIONS OP THE STATES. Ill 

twenty, a resident in the State five years, and 
have a freehold worth $2,000. 

Q. What is said of the judicial power i 

A. The judicial power is vested in a court of 
appeals, aud superior courts, aDd circuit courts. 

Q. How are the judges appointed ? 

A. The judges are elected by the people for 
a term of six years. 

Q. What may be observed of the right of suf- 
frage ? 

A. This right extends to all male citizens of 
the age of 21 years and upwards, who have re- 
sided in the State one year, and six months in 
the county or city in which they intend to vote. 

Q. What States have constitutions similar to 
Mississippi ? 

A. The States of Illinois, Arkansas, Michigan, 
Alabama. Missouri, and Texas. The govern- 
ment of the other States is similar to that of Ohio. 

O. What States have abolished imprisonment 
for debt? 

A. The States of New York, New Jersey, 
'- nnsylvania, Maryland, and Ohio. 

, What persons are generally excluded from 
voting in the United States ? 

A. Paupers, convicts, persons of insane mind, 
Indians not taxed, and colored persons generally, 
except in some few States. 



DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 



In Congress, July 4th, 1776. 
THE UNANIMOUS DECLARATION OF THE THIRTEEN 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 

When, in the course of human events^ it becomes necessary fo 
one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected 
them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth 
the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of 
nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of man 
kind requires that they should declare the causes which impel 
them to the separation. 

We hold these truths to be self-evident : That all men are 
created equal ; that they are endowed by their Creator with cer- 
tain inalienable rights ; that among these are life, liberty, and 
the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, govern 
ments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers 
from the consent of the governed ; that whenever any form of 
government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right o; 
the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new government, 
laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers 
in such form as to them shall seemmost likely to effect their safety 
and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate' that governments 
long established should not be changed for light and transient 
causes ; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind 
are more disposed to suffer while evils are sufferable, than to right 
themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed 
But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing inva- 
riably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under 
absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off 
such government, and to provide new guards far their future 
security. Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies ; 
and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their 
former systems of government. The history of the present King 
of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, 
all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny 
over these States. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a can- 
did world. 

He has refused his assent to laws the most wholesome and neces- 
sary for the public good. 

He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and 
pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his 
assent should be obtained ; and when so suspended he has utterly 
neglected to attend to them. He has refused to pass other lawa 

112 



DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 113 

for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those 
people would relinquish the right of representation in the legisla- 
ture — a right inestimable to them, and formidable to tyrants 
only. 

He has culled together legislative bodies at places unusual, 
uncomfortable, and distant from the repository of their public re- 
cords, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance witli 
his measures. 

He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing 
with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people. 

He has refused, for a long time after such dissolutions, to cause 
others to be elected, whereby the legislative powers, incapable of 
annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exer 
cise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all tli.' 
dangers of invasion from without and convulsions within. 

He has endeavored to prevent the population of these States ; foi 
that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners ; 
refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and 
raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands. 

He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his 
assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers. 

He has made judges dependent on his will alone for the tenure 
of their offices and the amount and payment of their salaries. 

He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hithei 
swarms of officers, to harass our people and eat out their substance. 

He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies, with- 
(»ut the consent of our legislatures. 

He has affected to render the military independent of, and supe 
rior to, the civil power. 

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction for- 
eign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws ; giving 
his assent to their acts of pretended legislation : 

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us : 

For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment for any 
murders which" they should commit on the inhabitants of these 
States : 

For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world : 

For imposing taxes on us without our consent : 

For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury: 

For transporting us beyond seas, to be tried for pretended of- 
fences : 

For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring 
province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarg- 
ing its boundaries, so as to render it at once an example and fit 
instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these colo- 
nies: 

For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valu ' 
taw»', and altering fundamentally the forms of our governim 

For su-pendins; our own legislatures, and declaring thems ' 
invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. 

He has abdicated government here, by declaring; us out of 
protection, and waging war against us. 



114 DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, 
and destroyed the lives of our people. 

He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercena- 
ries to complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny 
alieady begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely 
paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the 
head of a civilized nation. 

He has constrained our fellow-citizens, taken captive on the 
high seas to bear arms against their country, to become the execu- 
tioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their 
hands. 

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has en- 
deavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers the merciless 
(Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare is undistinguished 
destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions. 

In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for 
redress in the most humble terms. Our repeated petitions have 
Seen answered only by repeated injury. A prince whose charac- 
ter is thus marked by every act winch may define a tyrant, is unfit 
to be the ruler of a free people. 

Nor have we been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. 
We have warned them, from time to time, of attempts by their 
iegislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. Wc 
have reminded them of the circumstances of our migration and 
settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and 
magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our com- 
mon kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevita- 
bly interrupt our connexions and correspondence. They, too, 
have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We 
must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity which denounces our 
separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind — ene- 
mies in war, in peace friends. 

WE, therefore, the representatives of the United States of Ame- 
rica, in general Congress assembled, appealing to the Supreme 
Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the 
name and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, 
solemnly publish and declare, that these united colonies are, and 
of right ought to be, free and independent States ; that they are 
absolved from all allegiance to the British crown, and that all po- 
litical connexion between them and the state of Great Britain is, 
and ought to be, totally dissolved ; and that, as free and indepen- 
dent States, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, 
contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and 
things which independent states may of right do. And for the 
support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection 
of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, 
our fortunes, and our sacred honor. 

JOHN HANCOCK. 



A TABL E 

Exhibiting the Birth-place and Age of each of ike 
Signers of the Declaration of Indepeivlence. 



State and Name. 



Born. Died. A«e Native of 



x r John Hancock . . 
•< J Josiah Bartlett, . 
x ) William Whipple, 
2 [ Matthew Thornton 

. f Samuel Adams, . 
£ J John Adams, . . 
* 1 Robert T. Paine, 
g [ Elbridge Gerry, . 

-; < Stephen Hopkins, 
« \ William Ellery, . 

(Roger Sherman, . 
Samuel Huntington 
William Williams, 
Oliver Wolcott, . 

a I William Floyd, . 
o J Philip Livingston, 
r* 1 Francis Lewis, . 
55 [ Lewis Morris, . . 

> r Richard Stockton, 
« John Witherspoon, 
w < Francis Hopkinson. 
•"» John Hart, . . . . 
55 I Abraham Clarke. 

f Robert Morris, . . 
< Benjamin Rush, . 
k Benjamin Franklin 
e, J John Morton, . . 
jjj ■{ George Clyiner. 
» James Smith, . 
2 George Taylor, . 
pj| James Wilson, 

[ George Ross, . , 



i Caesar Rodney 
< George Read, 
f Thomas McK 



ean, 



1737 
1729 
1730 
1714 

1722 
1735 
1731 
1744 

1707 
1727 

1721 
1732 
1731 
1726 

1734 
1716 
1713 
1726 

1730 
1722 
1737 
1714 
1726 



1793 I 56 

1795 J 65 

1785 J 55 
1803 



1803 
1826 
1814 
1814 

1785 



1793 
1796 
1811 



1797 71 



1821 
1778 
1803 
1798 

1781 
1794 
1791 
1780 
1794 



1733 


1806 


73 


1745 


1813 


68 


1706 


1790 


84 


1724 


1777 


53 


1739 


1813 


74 


1720 


1806 


86 


1716 


1781 


65 


1742 


1798 


56 


1730 


1780 


50 


1730 


1783 


53 


1734 


1798 


64 


1734 


1817 


83 



Massachusetts. 
Massachusetts. 
Maine. 
Ireland. 

Massachusetts. 
Massachusetts. 
Massachusetts. 
Massachusetts. 

Rhode Island. 
Rhode Island. 

Massachusetts. 
Connecticut. 
Connecticut. 
Connecticut. 

New York. 
New York. 
England. 
New York. 

New Jersey. 
Scotland. 
Pennsylvania. 
New Jersey. 
New Jersey. 

England. 

Pennsylvania. 

Massachusetts. 

Pennsylvania. 

Pennsylvania. 

Ireland. 

Ireland. 

Scotland. 

Delaware. 

Delaware. 
Maryland. 
Pennsylvania. 



116 



SIGNERS OF DECLARATION. 



State and Name. 



Born 



Died 



Age 



Native of 



o f Samuel Chase, . 
> J William Paca, . . 
% 1 Thomas Stone. . 
§ I Charles Carroll, . 



f George Wythe, . 
Richard H. Lee, . 
Thomas Jefferson, 
Benjamin Harrison 
Thomas Nelson, . 
Francis L. Lee, . 
Carter Braxton, . 



q ( William Hooper, 

< Joseph Hewes, . . 

55 ( John Pehn, .... 

as ("Edward Rutledge, 

* I Thomas Heyward, 

1 Thomas Lynch, . 

,K [Arthur Middleton, 

• ( Burton Gvvinnet, . 
h < Lyman Hall, . . . 
G> ( George Walton, . 



1741 
1740 
1743 
1737 

1726 
1732 
1743 
1736 
1738 
1734 
1736 

1742 
1730 
1741 

1749 
1746 
1749 
1743 

1732 
1721 
1740 



1811 
1799 

1787 
1832 

1800 
1794 
1826 
1791 
1789 
1797 
1797 

1790 
1779 

1788 

1800 
1809 
1779 

1788 

1777 
1784 

1804 



70 



Maryland. 
Maryland. 
Maryland. 
Maryland. 

Virginia. 
Virginia. 
Virginia. 
Virginia. 
Virginia. 
Virginia. 
Virginia. 

Massachusetts. 
New Jersey. 
Virginia. 

South Carolina. 
South Carolina. 
South Carolina. 
South Carolina. 

England. 

Connecticut. 

Virginia. 



CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE 

Of the Presidents and other Principal Officers of the United 
States, since the adoption of the Constitution. 



PRESIDENTS. 

George Washington, of Virginia, inaugurated 1789" 

John Adams, of Massachusetts, 1797 

Thomas Jefferson, of Virginia, 1801 

James Madison, of Virginia, 1809 

James Monroe, of Virginia, 1817 

John Q . Adams, of Massachusetts, 1825 

Andrew Jackson, of Tennessee, 1829 

Martin Van Buren, of New York, 1837 

William Henry Harrison, of Ohio, 1841 

John Tyler, of Virginia, 1841 

James K. Polk, of Tennessee;, 1845 

Zachary Taylor, of Louisiana, 1849 

Millard Fillmore, of New York. 1850 

Franklin Pierce, of New Hampshire, 1853 



VICE-PRESIDENTS. 

John Adams, of Massachusetts, 1781/ 

Thomas Jefferson, of Virginia 1797 

Aaron Burr, of New York, 1801 

George Clinton, of New York 1805 

Elbridge Gerry, of Massachusetts, 1812 

Daniel D. Tompkins, of New Ydrk, 1817 

John C Calhoun, of South Carolina, ] 825 

Martin Van Buren, of New York, 1833 

Richard M. Johnson, of Kentucky, 1837 

John Tyler, of Virginia, .* 1841 

George M. Dallas, of Pennsylvania, 1845 

Millard Fillmore, of New York, 1849 

William R. King, of Georgia, 1853 



SECRETARIES OF STATE. 

Thomas Jefferson, of Virginia, appointed 1789 

Edmund Randolph, of Virginia, 1794 

Timothy Pickering, of Virginia, 1795 

John Marshall, of Virginia, 1800 

James Madison, of Virginia, 1801 

Robert Smith, of Maryland 1809 



118 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. 

James Monroe, of Virginia 18U 

John Q,. Adams, of Massachusetts L81I 

Henry Clay, of Kentucky, 1825 

Martin Van Buren, of New York, 1829 

Edward Livingston, of Louisiana, 1831 

Louis McLane, of Delaware 1833 

John Forsyth, of Georgia, 1834 

Daniel Webster, of Massachusetts 1341 

Hugh S. Legare, of South Carolina '. 1343 

Abel P. Upsher, of Virginia, 1843 

John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina, 1844 

James Buchanan, of Pennsylvania, 1845 

John M. Clayton, of Delaware, 1849 

Daniel Web-ter, of Massachusetts, 1850 

William L. Marcy, of New York, 1853 



SECRETARIES OF THE TREASURY. 

Alexandor Hamilton, of New York, 1739 

Oliver Woleott, of Connecticut, 1795 

Samuel Dexter, of Massachusetts, 1800 

Albert Gallatin, of Pennsylvania, 1802 

George H. Campbell, of Tennessee, 1814 

Alexander J. Dallas, of Pennsylvania, 1814 

William H. Crawford, of Georgia, 1817 

Richard Rush, of Pennsylvania 1826 

Samuel D. Ingham, of Pennsylvania, 1829 

Louis McLane, of Delaware, 1831 

William J. Duane, of Pennsylvania, 1833 

R. B. Taney, of Maryland, 1833 

Levi Woodbury, of New Hampshire, 1834 

Thomas Ewing, of Ohio, 1841 

Walter Forward, of Pennsylvania, 1841 

John C. Spencer, of New York, 1843 

Geo. M. Bibb, of Kentucky, 1844 

Robert J. Walker, of Mississippi, 1845 

William M. Meredith, of Pennsylvania, 1849 

Thomas Corwin, of Ohio ' 1850 

James Guthrie, of Kentucky, 1853 



SECRETARIES OF WAR. 

Henry Knox, of Massachusetts, 1789 

Timothy Pickering, of Massachusetts, 1795 

James McHenry, of Maryland, 1796 

Samuel Dexter, of Massachusetts, 1800 

Roger Griswold, of Connecticut, 1801 

Henry Dearborn, of Massachusetts, 1801 

William Eustis, of Massachusetts, 1809 

John Armstrong, of New York, 1 813 

James Monroe, of Virginia, .' 1814 



CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. 119 

William H. Crawford, of Georgia, 1815 

[saac Shelby, of Kentucky, 1816 

John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina, 1817 

James Barbour, of Virginia, 1825 

Peter B. Porter, of New York, 1828 

John Eaton, of Tennessee, 1829 

HughL. White, of Tennessee, 1851 

Lewis Cass, of Michigan, 1831 

Joel R. Poinsett, of South Carolina, 1837 

John Bell, of Tennessee, 1841 

John C. Spencer, of New York, 1841 

James M. Porter, of Pennsylvania, 1848 

William Wilkins, of Pennsylvania, 1841 

William L. Marcy, of ~New York 1845 

George W. Crawford, of Georgia, 1849 

Charles M. Conrad, of Louisiana, 1850 

Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, 1853 



SECRETARIES OF THE KAVY. 

Note.— This Department was established in 1798 — previous to that period it was a 
branch of the War Department. 

George Cabot, of Massachusetts, 1798 

Benjamin Stoddart, of Maryland, 1799 

Robert Smith, of Maryland, 1802 

Jacob Crowninshield, of Massachusetts 1805 

Paul Hamilton, of North Carolina, 1809 

William Jones, of Pennsylvania 1812 

Benjamin W. Crowninshield, of Massachusetts 1814 

Smith Thompson, of New York. 1818 

Samuel L. Southland, of New Jorsey, 1822 

John Branch, of North Carolina 1829 

Levi Woodbury, of New Hampshire 1831 

Mahlon Dickerson, of New Jersey, 1834 

James K. Paulding, of New York, ia3S 

George E. Badger, of North Carolina, 1841 

Abel P. Upshur, of Virginia, 1841 

David Henshaw, of Massaehasetts, 1843 

Thomas W. Gilmer, of Virginia, 1844 

John Y. Mason, of Virginia, 1844 

George Bancroft, of Massachusetts, 1 845 

William Ballard Preston, of Virginia, 1849 

William A. Graham, of North Carolina, \W>0 

James C. Dobbin, of North Carolina, 185* 



SECRETARIES OF THE INTERIOR. 

Thomas Ewing, of Ohio, L849 

Thomas M. T. McKennan, of Pennsylvania, 1850 

Alexander H. H. Stewart, of Virginia, 1850 

Robert McClelland, of Michigan,. 1853 



120 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLB 



POSTMASTERS-GENERAL. 

Samuel Oswood, of M assachusetts, 178C 

Timothy Pickering, of Massachusetts, 1794 

Joseph Habersham, of Georgia, 1795 

Gideon Granger, of Connecticut, 1802 

Return J. Meigs, of Ohio, 1814 

John McLean, of Ohio, 1823 

Wiliiam T. Barry, of Kentucky, 1829 

Amos Kendall, of Kentucky, 1835 

John M. Niles. of Connecticut, 1840 

Francis Granger, of New York, 1841 

Charles A. Wickliffe, of Kentucky 1841 

Cave Johnson, of Tennessee. 1845 

Jacob ( v>l!aiiier, of Vermont, 1849 

NT. K. Hall, of New York, 1850 

Irunes Campbell, of Pennsylvania, 1853 



ATTORNEYS-GENERAL. 

Edmund Randolph, of Virginia, 1789 

William Bradford, of Pennsylvania, 1794 

Charles Lee, of Virginia, 1795 

Levi Lincoln, of Massachusetts?, 1801 

Robert Smith, of Maryland, 1805 

John Breckenridge, of Kentucky, 1806 

Cajsar A. Rodney, of Delaware, 1807 

William Pinkney, of Maryland, 1811 

Richard Bush, of Pennsylvania, 1814 

William Wirt, of Virginia, 1817 

J. McPherson Berrien, of Georgia, 1829 

Roger B. Taney, of Maryland 1831 

.Benjamin F. Butler, of New York, 1834 

Felix Grundy, of Tennessee, 1.838 

Henrv D. Gilpin., of Pennsylvania, 1840 

John J. Crittenden, of Kentucky, 1841 

Hugh S. Legate, of South Carolina, 1841 

John Nelson, of Maryland 1 845 

John Y. Mason, of Virginia, 1845 

Reverdy Johnson, of Maryland, 1849 

John J. Crittenden, of Kentucky, 1850 

Caleb Cushing of Massachusetts, 1853 



CHIEF JUSTICES OF THE UNITED STATES. 

John Jay, of New York, 1786. 

William Cushing, of Massachusetts, 1796 

Ohver Ellsworth, of Connecticut 1796 

John Jay, of New York, 1800 

John Marshall, of Virginia 1801 

Roger P. Taney, of Maryland, 183t> 



A CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE 

OF 

AMERICAN HISTORY, 

From the Discovery in 1492, to the year 1853. 



1492 Columbus discovers the New World. 

1497 The Cabots discover the Continent of N. America. 

1512 Juan Ponce de Leon discovers Florida. 

1539 Ferdinand de Soto begins the conquest of Florida. 

1541 Soto discovers the Mississippi river. 

1565 St. Augustine, the oldest town in the United States, 
founded by Pedro Melendez. 

1584 Raleigh's first expedition sent to Carolina. 

1607 Jamestown, in Virginia, founded; the earliest perma- 
nent English settlement in North America. 

1609 Henrv Hudson discovers the Hudson river. 

1613 New York settled by the Dutch. 

1620 Landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth. 

1623 Portsmouth and Dover settled by Gorges and Mason. 
Albany settled by the Dutch. 

1627 The Swedes settle oh the Delaware. 

1631 Windsor, in Connecticut settled. 

1633 Maryland settled by Lord Baltimore. 

1634 Banishment of Roger Williams from Massachusetts. 

1643 Confederation of the New England colonies. 

1644 Roger Williams obtains a charter for Rhode Island. 
1655 Stuyvesant, the Dutch governor of New York, con- 
quers New Sweden. 

1664 New York taken from the Dutch by the English. 

Charles II grants to the Duke of "York a patent for 
the country from the Delaware to the Connecticut. 
1671 Charleston settled. 

1673 New York re-conquered by the Dutch. 

1674 New York restored to the English. 

1675 Commencement of King Philip's war. 

1676 Bacon's rebellion in Virginia. 

1681 Penn receives a charter for Pennsylvania. 
121 



122 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLH 

1682 Philadelphia founded. 

1688 Revolution in England, which gives tlie sovereignty to 

William and Mary. 
1691 Colonel Slougliter appointed governor of New York. 
1694 Culture of rice introduced into South Carolina. 

1700 Yale College founded. 

1701 Penn grants a new charter to Pennsylvania. 

1704 First Newspaper published in America, at Boston. 

1729 North and South Carolina separated. 

1732 George Washington born. 

1744 War between France and England. 

1754 Commencement of the Old French War. 

1755 Defeat of General Braddock. 

1756 War formally declared between France and England. 
1759 Quebec taken. General Wolfe killed. 

1765 Stamp act passed. 

First Continental Congress meets at New York. 

1766 Stamp act repealed. 

1773 Tea destroyed in Boston. 

1774 Continental Congress assembles at Philadelphia. 

1775 April 19 — Battle of Lexington and Concord. 

June 15 — Washington appointed commander-in-chiet. 

17— Battle of Breed's Hill. 
Dec. 31 — Attack on Quebec defeated. Montgomery 
killed. 

1776 March 17— Boston evacuated by the British. 
July 4 — Declaration of Independence. 

Aug. 26 — Americans defeated on Long Island. 
Oct. 28— Battle of White Plains. 
Nov. — Retreat of Washington through New Jersey. 
Dec. 26— Battle of Trenton. 

1777 Jan. 2— Battle of Princeton. 

Arrival of Lafayette. 
Aug. 16 — Battle of Bennington. 
Sept. 11 — Battle of Brandy wine. 

18 — Congress leaves Philadelphia. 
19— Battle of Stillwater. 
25 — Philadelphia occupied by the British. 
Oct. 4 — Battle of Germantown. 
12 — Surrender of Burgovne. 
22— Battle of Redbank. 
Nov. 15 — Articles of Confederation of the United States 

ratified. 
Dec. 11 — Washington retires to Valley Forge. 

1778 Treaty between France and the United States. 
June 18 — The British evacuate Philadelphia. 



OV AMERICAN HISTORY. 



123 



1778 June 28— Battle of Monmouth. 

1778 July— Arrival of the French fleet. 

1779 July 15— Storming of Stony Point. 

' 19— Storming of Paulus Hook. 
Sept.— Arrival of the French fleet at Savannah. 

1780 Mav 12— Charleston capitulates. 

July 12— British defeated at Williamson s Plantation. 

Aug. 16— Battle of Camden. 

Sept.— Arnold's treason at West Point. 

Oct. 7— Battle of King's Mountain. 

1781 Jan. 17— Battle of Cowpens. 
March 15— Battle of Guilford. 

8— Battle of Futaw. 
Oct. 19— Siege and surrender of Yorktown. 

1782 Feb. 27— Gen. Conway makes a motion in the Parlia- 

ment for discontinuing the American war. 

Nov. Treaty of Peace between the United States and 

Great Britain signed. ; 

1783 April 19— Cessation of hostilities between the United 

States and Great Britain proclaimed. 
Dec. 4— Washington takes. leave of the officers of" the 

army. 
Dec. 23— Washington resigns his commission. 

1787 May— Convention meets at Philadelphia for framing 

the Federal Constitution. 
Sept. 17— Constitution made public. 

1788 The new Constitution ratified. 

1789 March 4 — Washington's Administration commences. 

1790 First Census of the United States taken : population 

3,929.320. 

1791 The city of Washington laid out, 
N v— Defeat of General St. Clair. 

Miami. 

1797 John Adams elected President, and Thomas Jerterson 
Vice-President of the United States. 
March 4— Commencement of John Adams* Adminis- 
tration. 

1799 Dec. 14— Death of General Washington. 

1800 Second Census of the U. States : population 5,30o,485. 
Nov— Congress first sits at Washington. 

1801 March 4— Commencement of Jefferson's Administra- 

tion. 
1807 Dec — Embargo Law passed. 
Burr's Conspiracv and Trial. 
1809 March 4— Commencement of Madam's Administration. 



124 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE 

1809 Embargo Law repealed. 

1811 Nov. 7— Battle of Tippecanoe. 

1812 June 18— War declared against Great Britain by the 

United States. 

July 12 — General Hull invades Canada. 

Aug. 19 — Guerriere, British frigate, taken by the Con- 
stitution. 

Oct. 17 — British ship Frolic captured by American 
ship Wasp. 

Oct. 25 — Macedonian frigate taken by the U. States. 

Dec. 29 — Java, British frigate, taken by the Consti- 
tution. 

1813 Jan. 13 — General Winchester surprised and defeated. 
March 4 — James Madison inaugurated President. 
May 27 — Fort George taken by the American troops. 

29 — British defeated in an attempt on Sackett's 
Harbor. 
June 1 — Chesapeake taken by the Shannon. 
Sept. 4 — British brig; Boxer taken by the United States 
brig Enterprize. 
10 — British squadron on Lake Erie taken by the 
Americans. 
Oct. 5 — British defeated by General Harrison. 

1814 Feb. 23— Mission to Gottenburg. 

Mar. 20 — Frigate Essex taken by two British vessels. 
April 21 — United States' ship Frolic taken. 
July 6— Battle of Chippewa. 

25— Battle of Bridgewater. 
Aug. 15— Battle of Fort Erie. 

24 — Battle of Bladensburg, Washington taken, 
the Capitol and other public buildings 
burned by the British. 
Sept. 11 — British squadron on Lake Champlain cap- 
tured by the American squadron under 
Commodore MeDonough. Defeat of the 
British at Plattsburg. 
24 — Treaty of Peace signed at Ghent. 

1815 Jan. 8 — Signal defeat of the British, by Gen. Jackson. 
Feb. 17 — Treaty of peace ratified. 

Feb. 20 — War declared against the Algerines. 

May — Commodore Decatur sails to Algiers. 

June 1 8 — An Algerine frigate of 44 guns, captured by 

the Guerriere. 
Aug. — Treaty of peace with the Dey of Algiers. 

1816 April — The National Bank established by Congress 

with a capital of thirty-five millions. 



OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 125 

1817 March 4— Jame8 Monroe inaugurated President. 

1818 War with the Seminole Indians commenced. 
April — The Seminoles defeated by Gen. Jackson. 
May 28 — General Jackson takes Pensacola. 
Nov. — Pensacola restored to the Spaniards. 

1820 Population of the United States, 9,625,734. 

American Colonization Society sent out their first colo- 
nists to Liberia. 

1824 The Marquis de Lafayette visited the United States. 

1825 March 4— John Quincy Adams inaugurated. 

1826 July 4— The Ex-Presidents John Adams and Thoma* 

Jefferson died. 

1829 March 4 — Andrew Jackson inaugurated President. 

1830 Population of the United States, 12,866,020. 

1832 The United States visited with the cholera. 

1833 Andrew Jackson commences his second term. 

1837 Michigan admitted into the Union. 
March 4 — Van Buren inaugurated. 

Dec. 31 — Gen. Clinch's battle of the Withlacoochee. 

1838 Canadians revolt, and are aided by the Americans. 
1841 March 4 — Wrn. H. Harrison inaugurated. 

April 4 — Death of President Harrison. 

1845 March 4 — James K. Polk inaugurated. 
June 8 — General Jackson dies. 

Dec. 29 — Texas admitted into the Union. 

1846 May 3 — Hostilities commenced between Mexico and 

the United States. Battle of Palo Alto. 

1847 Feb. 23— Battle of Buena Vista. 

March 26 — Vera Cruz surrenders to General Scott. 
Sept. 15 — The city of Mexico surrenders. 

1848 John Q. Adams dies in the House of Congress. 

Feb. 2 — A treaty of peace concluded at Guadaloupe 
Hidalgo, between the United States and Mexico. 

1849 March 4 — General Zachary Taylor inaugurated. 
June 15 — Ex-President Polk died. 

1850 March 31— Death of John C. Calhoun. 
July 9 — Death of President Zachary Taylor. 
Millard Fillmore becomes President. 
California admitted into the Union. 

liation of the United States, 23,267,498. 
1853 Franklin Fierce inaugurated. 
■ 



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Branch Bindery, 1903 



LIBRARY 




